With Bayern crushed, Barça and Raphinha look ominous pre-Clásico

BARCELONA, Spain — There is often something iconic about a celebration spilling on to the running track behind the goal, as Raphinha‘s did at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday after he sealed Barcelona‘s emphatic 4-1 UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich with his third goal of the night.

As he ran towards the fans, supporters tumbled down to the front to get a better glimpse and photographers surrounded him. Eventually, he made his way out of the crowd and back to the pitch, fists clenched and the Hansi Flick era at Barça in full flow ahead of Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid.

Barça have been on the other end of these nights so often in Europe in recent years — especially against Bayern. They had lost their last six games against the German giants, including that famous 8-2 defeat in 2020 when Flick was in the other dugout, and eight of their last nine, a run dating back to 2013. Lose to them again and all the good work Flick had done since taking over in the summer — 10 wins from 12 in all competitions — would have been questioned ahead of this weekend’s Clásico (stream live on ESPN+).

But Raphinha, wearing the captain’s armband on the night, ensured there would be no repeat of Bayern ghosts of the past.

“This was revenge for the supporters,” he said after the game. “For the players, we can’t focus on the past, only the next game, but I suffered those games as a fan, too.”

It wasn’t always straight forward, despite Raphinha rounding Manuel Neuer within a minute to open the scoring. Bayern came back. Harry Kane was denied by Barça keeper Iñaki Peña, had a goal ruled out for offside, and then finally equalised. Between Raphinha’s and Kane’s goals, Barça had been too passive, and Bayern had control. The English striker’s leveller woke them up and they began to press again, all while keeping the high line that has characterised Barça under Flick so far.

Robert Lewandowski restored the hosts’ lead and then Raphinha took centre stage. He brought down a Marc Casadó pass before the break and finished expertly from the edge of the box. Then, in the 56th minute, he wonderfully chested down a ball from Lamine Yamal and fired his shot across Neuer into the bottom corner to crown his 100th appearance for the Catalan club with a hat trick.

There were other impressive performances. Pedri and Casadó, both just 21, were brilliant in midfield, Yamal and Pau Cubarsí continue to bely their 17 years of age, and there was good news in the form of more minutes from the bench for the returning Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi ahead of the Madrid game.

“Raphinha is a very good example of how the team works,” Flick said in a news conference. “He is someone who always gives everything in training and in games, too, he plays with a lot of intensity. He’s very important for us, how he presses, and today we saw he scores goals as well.

“He’s a player who is defensive and offensive, with intensity, dynamism, technique … We have an excellent team and these characteristics suit us perfectly. But also I have to highlight that the whole team has great quality. Everyone did so well in possession of the ball in the second half, whether it was Lamine, Casadó or Cubarsí. At their age, it’s a superb level of performance.”

Raphinha becomes Barça’s first Brazilian to score a Champions League hat trick since Neymar did it in 2013. Ronaldinho and Rivaldo also managed it, but Raphinha was never meant to be on that level. The idea of him leaving was even floated in the summer. He was furious that some Barça fans bought shirts with his No. 11 on the back but the name of Nico Williams — the Athletic Club winger linked with Barça at the time. “It was disrespectful,” he said on Tuesday before the Bayern game. “It hurt. People need to respect the players that are here.”

There wasn’t a single Barça fan among the 50,312 crowd whose respect he didn’t have by the time he buried his third goal. Up in the second tier behind one of the goals, even the 3,000 Bayern fans must have begrudgingly respected what they had just witnessed from the former Leeds United man.

This was not a freak performance, either. He already has one hat trick this season, against Real Valladolid in LaLiga, and he now has nine goals for the campaign in all competitions — and another six assists. To put that into perspective, he only netted 10 goals in each of his first two seasons with Barça. It’s only Oct. 23.

As the final whistle went, more celebrations followed. Barça’s players threw Raphinha in the air and he was awarded the MVP trophy. “It will be for my son, although he prefers the balls,” he said when asked where he will put the trophy. Luckily, his hat trick also earned him the match ball. His son will be happy.

The victory afforded some optimism for Barça. After opening their Champions League campaign with a defeat to AS Monaco, they have now won back-to-back games in the competition and are one point off the top eight. Thoughts, though, quickly turned to Saturday’s trip to Madrid, where a win would open up a six-point lead at the top of the table over their Clásico rivals.

“If you’re not bouncing, you’re a Madrid fan,” Barça’s fans chanted after the game. Many of the players obliged them by bouncing.

It sets up an enthralling game at the Santiago Bernabéu. Raphinha’s treble came the night after Vinícius Junior netted one of his own as Madrid came from behind to beat German opposition in Borussia Dortmund 5-2. The two Brazilians will go head-to-head this weekend.

For Bayern, this was their second defeat in a row in the Champions League. They have three points from three games and Dinamo Zagreb — who they beat 9-2 in their opening fixture — are now ahead of them in the standings. Vincent Kompany’s team remain unbeaten and top of the Bundesliga, but they evidently have a lot of work to do in Europe ahead of upcoming games against Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain.