Barcelona star rejects Man of the Match award after El Clasico win v Real Madrid

Barcelona were 2-0 down but battled back to secure a hugely important 4-3 win on Sunday (Picture: Getty)

Barcelona star Raphinha turned down the Man of the Match award in the El Clasico win over Real Madrid despite registering a fine performance.

The Brazilian left winger produced two great goals as the Catalan club beat their arch rivals 4-3 at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

The former Leeds United man’s second came as a result of his relentless pressing, pinching the ball off his Real Madrid opponent Lucas Vazquez.

Raphinha could, and probably should, have had more though – and was adamant that he did not deserve to be named the best player on the pitch.

At one point, the 28-year-old missed somewhat of a sitter and was critical of his own performance in a post-match interview.

‘I didn’t play well today,’ Raphinha said after Barcelona moved one step closer to clinching the La Liga title.

‘I don’t deserve the Man of the Match award. I would have given it to someone else.’

Raphinha scored two goals in Barcelona’s El Clasico victory on Sunday (Picture: Getty)

Raphinha has been in remarkable form for Barcelona this season, conjuring up 34 goals and 25 assists in 54 games across all competitions.

He helped Barcelona land the Copa del Rey trophy last month, with Hansi Flick’s side defeating Real Madrid in the final.

Another El Clasico triumph on Sunday means Barcelona are also closing in on the Spanish top-flight title, with the league leaders seven points clear.

Hansi Flick’s side look set to land a league and cup double this season (Picture: Getty)

Flick said he was going to have check on his heart after he watched Barcelona fight back from 2-0 down to secure victory over Real Madrid.

Barcelona’s win has virtually secured a league and cup double in his first season as head coach – but he is adamant that the team ‘don’t feel like champions’ – and still believes his side need to improve defensively.

‘I am going to have to check my heart,’ Flick said. ‘It would be easy to say that the tactic is to score four if they score three.

‘We have to improve a lot defensively. When we press, it is fine. But this [can] get complicated when we make mistakes.

‘It would be nice to win three titles (including the Supercopa de España) and only need one victory now.

‘[But] this is football. We are in a good position but you never know what can happen. We still need three points and every opponent wants to beat us.’

Barcelona were hoping to land a treble this season but crashed out of the Champions League in the semi-finals to Inter Milan 7-6 on aggregate.

It means that Inter Milan will face Paris Saint-Germain in this season’s Champions League final after the French side eliminated Arsenal.