Raphinha scores hat-trick in 100th appearance for Barca
Brazilian winger Raphinha celebrated his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona with a hat-trick goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
Roberto Firmino will be touch and go with respects to his eye injury for Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted.
“No idea, to be honest. He is much better,” the German manager responded when asked whether the former Hoffenheim striker will be fit to play the Tuesday night fixture.
Firmino got injured during a clash with Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen, with the Belgian almost gouging out the Brazilian’s eye, albeit inadvertently.
Advertisement
“We all saw the picture and we were massively worried. But all these worries are away so he will be fine. If he will be fine for tomorrow, I don’t know in the moment,” Klopp told the club website.
The club confirmed that no lasting damage had been suffered by Firmino, with the 26-year-old dealing with an abrasion only.
Liverpool have made a searing start to the 2018/19 campaign, winning all five of their Premier League games to go top of the table and their latest win over Spurs has them pegged as favourites for the title.
DON’T MISS | Inter Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur: Injured Lilywhites trio to miss trip
Only Chelsea have been able to match Jurgen Klopp’s men with a 100 per cent record. Defending champions Manchester City trail the Blues and the Reds by two points, having drawn once and won four times this season.
Currently, the Blues are first due to a marginally superior goal difference, but hopes are high on Merseyside that this could be Liverpool’s year.
MUST READ | Inter Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur: Mauricio Pochettino drops two players
Firmino’s injury could deflate the optimism, however, as the Brazilian had just gotten into some goalscoring form and should he fail to recover in time for the visit of Les Parisiens, Daniel Sturridge could be line for his first start of the season.
The Englishman has one goal from four substitute appearances this season.
Advertisement
