Barcelona's captain Raphinha took the spotlight with a stunning hat-trick, leading his team to a dominant 4-1 win against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. This marks the end of a nearly decade-long winless streak against the German giants.
After suffering six consecutive losses to Bayern, where they were outscored by an alarming 22 goals to four—including a brutal 8-2 defeat four years ago—Barcelona finally turned the tables with an explosive attacking display anchored by their Brazilian captain.
Raphinha's magic began just over a minute into the game. Receiving a slick pass from midfielder Fermin Lopez, he skillfully evaded the offside trap and outpaced Bayern's Manuel Neuer to slot the ball into an empty net, giving Barca an early lead.
Despite the setback, Bayern maintained control for much of the match, with Barcelona comfortably relying on counter-attacks and utilizing the speed of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. While Barca looked threatening on the ball, their defense gave Bayern ample opportunities, which the German side couldn’t capitalize on.
Bayern's wingers Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise were relentless, testing Barca’s high defensive line orchestrated by coach Hansi Flick.
In the 10th minute, Harry Kane thought he had equalized for Bayern with a header, but VAR ruled him slightly offside. However, eight minutes later, Kane's volley did stand, leveling the score.
Barcelona responded in the 36th minute when Bayern's Kim Min-Jae mishandled a high pass, allowing Fermin Lopez to slyly chip the ball between Neuer and Upamecano to Robert Lewandowski, who tapped in a second goal for Barca.
Despite Bayern players' complaints about Lopez's push in the build-up, VAR did not call an infringement. As the first half ended, Raphinha struck again with a curling shot from the edge of the box, and he sealed the win in the 56th minute with a neat finish from another swift counter-attack, while the home crowd cheered \"Ole\" in jubilation. 🎉
With Barcelona now ninth in the Champions League standings on six points from three games, and Bayern trailing at 23rd with three points after their second consecutive defeat, all eyes are on the upcoming highly anticipated El Clasico against Real Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday.
\"Look at what happened yesterday (in Madrid) and today and you can see how good of a game it will be on Saturday. El Clasico is one of the best matches in the world,\" Raphinha told Movistar Plus. \"It is a night to be very happy about. For the game, what we did as a team. It's the most important thing for me. To be able to win like this, in front of our fans, is special.\"
