Barcelona forward Raphinha said Wednesday's thumping 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich serve as revenge for the club's supporters for past
Barcelona forward Raphinha said Wednesday’s thumping 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich serve as revenge for the club’s supporters for past results against the German team.
Raphinha starred with a hat trick on him 100th appearance for Barca as the Catalan club ended a run of six successive defeats against Bayern in the competition.
The Brazilian was only there for two of those games-and he had not signed for Barca when they lost 8-2 to Bayern in 2020 – but he said he experienced them all as a supporter.
”It was a revenge for the fans I think”, Raphinha said after the game. ”For us on the inside, the players, we don’t look at the past. We focus on the next game. But I suffered those games as a fan, too.
It’s been an amazing, special night, scoring a hat trick on my 100th game for the club, I am very happy with the performance and how we played.
As a team, we played really well and that’s the most important thing for me. Getting that second win in the Champions League was important.
Barca and Bayern both came into the fixture at the Olympic Stadium with one win and one loss from their opening games in this season’s Champions League, making it imperative not to drop more points given the uncertainty over how many will be needed to progress in the new format.
Raphinha open the scoring inside the opening minute, but Harry Kane drew Bayern level with his 14th goal of the season in all competition.
Robert Lewandowski restored Barca’s lead before half-time and two more goals from Raphinha either side of the break earned Barca the points in a game the former Leeds United attacker feels could have been the final.
”I said before the game this could be a Champions League final,” he added. ”Maybe not everyone agrees with me, but in my opinion it could be. ”So, to be able to win in this manner, in front of our fans, is quite special and I am really happy.”
Raphinha, who captained Barca on the night, now has eight goals and six assists in all competition in what is his third season with the Blaugrana. He was named the MVP by UEFA for his performance.
”I will give the award to my son, it will be another trophy for him, although he prefers the match balls,” he joked. ”But it’s a trophy that shows what I can do in the Champions League. Since I signed, I have dreamed of these nights: scoring goals, playing these games and making a difference.
The victory sets Barca up perfectly for Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid for the first Clasico of the season. If they win at the Santiago Bernabeu, they could open up a six-point lead at the top of the table.
Coach Hansi Flick– who was in charge of Bayern for that 8-2 four years ago lauded an ”incredible” win against his former side, but tempered expectations about winning the champions league as he looked ahead to taking on Madrid.
“No, it’s too soon, we just started the season,” he said in a news conference when asked if the result makes Barca a genuine contender to win the trophy. “We’re on a long road in LaLiga and in the Champions League. We are taking things game by game. We’re obviously very proud of the result tonight, but on Saturday it continues with another hard game.
“We want to deliver another top performance. It’s an incredible result against a fantastic team and gives us confidence for Saturday. I am very proud of the team. We saw the joy of the team and how they celebrated.”
It was a difficult story for Bayern, who tested defeat for the second game running in the Champions League after losing at Aston Villa last time out.
Coach Vincent Kompany had few complaints with the result, but said there were moments around Kane’s equalizer when he thought his side could get points from the game.
“What I can share at the moment is how we felt the game went at the start or in the first half versus what we thought we could achieve in this game,” Kompany said in a news conference. “I think all of us, and you guys would have felt it too, felt like we could edge this game, that it could turn for us.
“But in key moments we got outdone and for that reason the result is fairly heavy. We have to learn from this game so the next opportunities we have, we are stronger again.”