With Bayern down, Barça and Raphinha look threatening ahead of the Clásico

BARCELONA, Spain – A celebration that spills over to the track behind the goal is often iconic, as Raphinha did on Wednesday at the Olympic Stadium after his third victory in Barcelona's impressive 4-1 UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich sealed the goal of the evening.

As he ran toward fans, fans rushed forward to get a better look and photographers surrounded him. He eventually left the crowd and returned to the pitch with his fists clenched as the Hansi Flick era at Barça was in full swing 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 the famous 8-2 defeat in 2020 when Flick was in the other dugout, and eight of their last nine, a run that dates back to 2013's The Good Work What Flick has achieved since taking over in the summer – ten out of twelve wins in all competitions – would have been called into question before this weekend classic (Live stream on ESPN+).

But Raphinha, who wore the captain's armband that evening, ensured that Bayern's ghosts of the past would not be repeated.

“It was revenge for the fans,” he said after the game. “For the players, we can’t focus on the past, only on the next game, but I also experienced these games as a fan.”

It wasn't always easy, although Raphinha got around Manuel Neuer within a minute and scored the opening goal. Bayern came back. Harry Kane was denied by Barça keeper Iñaki Peña, had a goal disallowed for offside, and finally equalized. Between Raphinha and Kane's goals, Barça had been too passive and Bayern were in control. The English striker's equalizer woke them up and they began to apply the pressure again, while maintaining the high line that has characterized Barça so far under Flick.

Robert Lewandowski restored the hosts' lead and then Raphinha took center stage. He brought down a pass from Marc Casadó before half-time and expertly finished the ball from the edge of the penalty area. Then, in the 56th minute, he chested a ball from Lamine Yamal beautifully and fired his shot over Neuer into the bottom corner to cap his 100th appearance for the Catalan club with a hat-trick.

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

“Raphinha is a very good example of how the team works,” said Flick in a press conference. “He is someone who always gives his all in training and in games, he plays with a lot of intensity. The way he presses is very important for us and today we saw that he also scores goals.”

“He is a player who acts both defensively and offensively, with intensity, dynamism and technique… We have an excellent team and these characteristics suit us perfectly. But I also have to emphasize that the entire team has great quality. Everyone did very well.” The possession of the ball in the second half, whether it was Lamine, Casadó or Cubarsí, is an excellent level of performance at their age.

Raphinha is Barça's first Brazilian to score a hat-trick in the Champions League since Neymar in 2013. Ronaldinho and Rivaldo did it too, but Raphinha was never meant to be at that level. In the summer the idea of ​​leaving him even came up. He was angry that some Barça fans were buying jerseys with his number 11 on the back but with the name Nico Williams – the Athletic Club winger then linked to Barça. “That was disrespectful,” he said on Tuesday before the Bayern game. “It hurt. People have to respect the players that are here.”

There wasn't a single Barça fan in the 50,312 spectators whose respect he didn't have when he buried his third goal. Up in the second division behind one of the goals, even the 3,000 Bayern fans must have grudgingly respected what they had just seen from the former Leeds United player.

This wasn't a freak performance either. He has already scored a hat-trick this season, against Real Valladolid in LaLiga, and he now has nine goals this season in all competitions – and a further six assists. To put that into perspective, he only scored ten goals in each of his first two seasons at Barça. It's only October 23rd.

As the final whistle blew, 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 would put the trophy. Luckily, his hat trick also gave him the match point. His son will be happy.

The victory gave Barça some optimism. After opening their Champions League campaign with a defeat against AS Monaco, they have now won two games in a row in the competition and sit one point behind the top eight. However, thoughts quickly turned to Saturday's trip to Madrid, where a win would open them up to six points clear at the top of the table classic Rivals.

“If you don't jump, you're a Madrid fan,” Barça fans chanted after the game. Many of the players obeyed them by jumping.

It sets up an exciting game at the Santiago Bernabéu. Raphinha's hat-trick came on the night after Vinícius Junior scored his own goal as Madrid came from behind to beat German opponents Borussia Dortmund 5-2. The two Brazilians will compete against each other this weekend.

It was Bayern's 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 game, are now ahead of them in the standings. Vincent Kompany's team remain unbeaten and top of the Bundesliga, but they clearly still have a lot of work to do in Europe ahead of upcoming games against Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain.