Watch Leeds United ace Raphinha shine for Brazil with goal before limping off after bad tackle

On his fifth consecutive start following his international debut in August, Raphinha repaid the faith shown in him by Brazil boss Tite.

The Whites attacker believed he had put his side ahead inside two minutes before an extensive VAR check ruled that he was guilty of handling the ball as he breezed through the Paraguay defence toward goal.

Brazil, who have already qualified for Qatar 2022, gave a dominant performance and it was Raphinha who made the scoreline reflect his side's quality around the half hour mark when he bagged the first goal of the game.

The 25-year-old expertly controlled a long ball from Paris Saint Germain defender Marquinhos before dancing past a defender and striking low and hard into the bottom corner.

He almost doubled the Seleção's lead after the interval but his volley came back off the post.

It was Philippe Coutinho, who has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season, whose stunning long-range effort made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute before late goals from Antony and Rodrygo sealed a convincing home victory for Tite's side.

Raphinha gave Whites fans cause for concern, though, when he came off in the 82nd minute after being scythed down by Paraguay centre-back Júnior Alonso while attacking the penalty box.

Alonso, who plays for Russian Premier League side Kranodar, was booked for the challenge which gave Brazil a free-kick on the edge of the area.

Raphinha, whose boot came off in the tackle, initially continued before going to ground shortly after to receive treatment.

Minutes later, the United forward looked disappointed as he limped off to make way for Rodrygo.

In a game where Brazil had 22 shots at Paraguay's goal, Raphinha may have felt aggrieved to have missed the chance to add to his goal tally, and perhaps the officials' decision to hand Alonso only a yellow card was a source of frustration.

Leeds supporters must now wait to learn the condition of the Whites star.

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