Bayern Munich was owned by FC Barcelona for many years Bestia Negrathe Black Beast, the German giant that even Barca could not conquer.

The Spanish media coined the term as Champions League defeats piled up, and rallied as Barcelona left its best years of the early 2010s behind.

The Catalan club had floundered through the final years of the Lionel Messi era. Hampered by financial problems and political turmoil, the country had fallen into a short-sighted, seemingly precarious situation. The country has been among football’s elite for most of the past five seasons. It won La Liga only once in that period. It did not get further than the Champions League quarters. And five consecutive Bayern defeats – by scores of 8-2, 3-0, 3-0, 2-0, 3-0 – epitomized its decline.

So it was fitting that a blow came on Wednesday by Bayern became the best proof yet of Barca’s revival.

The Blaugrana beat Bayern 4-1 in the first stage of the Champions League and showed the dynamic football that has put them at the top of La Liga – ahead of this season’s first stage ClassicSaturday at Real Madrid.

They showed it in the very first minute on Wednesday in their temporary home stadium, Montjuïc. Raphinha, whose place in the team once felt like a testament to Barca’s decline, capped a slick, energetic move with his first of three goals on the night.

On balance, Barca was not three goals or worlds better than Bayern. Harry Kane had a goal disallowed for marginal offside. Bayern bombarded Barcelona’s backline with attack after attack during a breakneck first half.

But in the second half Oles were calling.

And Barca were indeed better – than Bayern, and than any other Barca team of the 2020s.

The red-hot start in La Liga is proof that Wednesday was no fluke. And Wednesday was proof that the La Liga format, produced largely against lesser opposition, is sustainable.

Barcelona is not alone in first place, three points ahead of Real Madrid. 33 goals have already been scored. Robert Lewandowski – scorer of the (lucky) second goal against Bayern – has already scored twelve in the league and fifteen in all competitions.

Lewandowski is the head of a versatile beast that, on paper, doesn’t look all that different from last season’s. However, the results have been there. Most of the victories were deserved and comprehensive. The expected goals difference is already +15.2, over six goals better than any other La Liga team.

Barca made just one off-season signing: Dani Olmo. But the famed academy has produced a new wave of youngsters who are driving this turnaround: forward Lamine Yamal (17), midfielders Marc Casadó (21) and Pedri (21), defender Pau Cubarsí (17) and more. Gavi (20), a starter for the Spanish national team as a teenager, has returned after eleven months of absence with a cruciate ligament injury. Fermín López, Ansu Fati and other locals are also involved.

And leading them is Hansi Flick, a German manager who has embraced – and been embraced by – Catalonia.

Flick was the man at the helm of the Bayern Munich team that defeated Barca 8-2 to win the Champions League in 2020. That match alone made such an impression on Barcelona’s hierarchy that it contributed to his hiring the last summer, after Xavi’s controversial dismissal.

In many ways, Xavi deserves some credit for the recent revival. But Flick’s impact was immediate. He appreciated the academy kids. He has given power to a group of often criticized veterans. He has turned them into a multi-trophy contender, a team that plays with flair and poise, and a thriving unit that destroyed the Bayern beast on Wednesday.

Next up is arch-rival, reigning Spanish and European champions, Real Madrid (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+). But if El Clasico wait, one conclusion is already clear: Barca is back.