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Raphinha steals the show with a hat-trick in Barcelona’s victory over Bayern
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Raphinha steals the show with a hat-trick in Barcelona’s victory over Bayern

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona’s match against Bayern Munich was billed as a match between Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski. Then Raphinha stole the show and left to a standing ovation.

Kane and Lewandowski both scored, but the Brazilian winger’s hat-trick for Barcelona surpassed both strikers in Barcelona’s 4-1 Champions League win on Wednesday.

Each of his three goals stood out in its own way. First, Raphinha darted in behind Bayern’s defense to score in the very first minute, then fired the ball between defender Dayot Upamecano’s legs and scored his second goal just before half-time.

For the third goal, Raphinha showed his technique to control Lamine Yamal’s cross-field pass on his chest and exploit the gap between two defenders before completing the hat-trick.

Barcelona fans once again rose to their feet to applaud when Raphinha, who was also captaining the team due to Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury, was substituted in the 75th, leaving him slightly fresher for Saturday’s ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid.

Raphinha’s demolition job in Bayern’s defense also means praise for Barcelona’s coach Hansi Flick, who was the comprehensive winner against his old side Bayern, with whom Flick defeated Barcelona 8-2 in 2020.

The loss causes unrest in Bayern’s season under new coach Vincent Kompany.

Bayern started their Champions League season with a record-breaking 9-2 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, but now sit 23rd in the Champions League standings, one place below Zagreb, after consecutive losses to Aston Villa and Barcelona. In all competitions, Bayern have won just one of their last five games.

The ease with which Raphinha was able to exploit gaps in the backline could reopen the question of whether Bayern, who have now conceded seven goals in their last three games, remain vulnerable in defence.

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AP football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer