BARCELONA, Spain – There is often something iconic about a celebration that takes place on the athletics track behind the goal, as Raphinha did at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday after sealing Barcelona’s emphatic 4-1 UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich with his third victory. goal of the evening.

As he ran towards the fans, supporters tumbled forward to get a better view and photographers surrounded him. He eventually pushed his way out of the crowd and returned to the pitch, fists raised and the Hansi Flick era at Barca in full swing ahead of Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid.

Barça have been on the other side of these nights in Europe so often in recent years, especially against Bayern. They had lost their last six games against the German giants, including that famous 8-2 defeat in 2020 when Flick was in the other dugout, and eight of their last nine, a streak dating back to 2013. Once again, they lost to them and all the good work Flick had done since taking over last summer – 10 wins from 12 in all competitions – would have been called into question ahead of this weekend’s match Classic (streaming live on ESPN+).

But Raphinha, who wore the captain’s armband that evening, ensured there would be no repeat of Bayern’s ghosts of the past.

“This was revenge for the fans,” he said after the match. “For the players, we can’t focus on the past, only on the next match, but I have also experienced those matches as a fan.”

It wasn’t always easy, despite Raphinha rounding Manuel Neuer within a minute to open the scoring. Bayern came back. Harry Kane was denied by Barça keeper Iñaki Peña, had a goal disallowed for offside and eventually 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 started to press again, maintaining the high line that has characterized Barça under Flick so far.

Robert Lewandowski restored the hosts’ lead, with Raphinha taking center stage. He brought in a pass from Marc Casadó before half-time and finished expertly from the edge of the penalty area. Then, in the 56th minute, he miraculously latched onto a ball from Lamine Yamal and fired his shot over Neuer into the bottom corner, marking his 100th appearance for the Catalan club with a hat-trick.

There were even more impressive performances. Pedri and Casadó, both only 21, were brilliant in midfield, Yamal and Pau Cubarsí continue to belie their seventeen years and there was good news in the form of more minutes off the bench for the returning Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi ahead of the match in Madrid.

“Raphinha is a very good example of how the team works,” Flick said at a press conference. “He is someone who always gives everything in training and also in matches. He plays with a lot of intensity. He is very important for us, how he puts pressure, and today we saw that he also scores goals.”

“He is a player who is defensive and attacking, with intensity, dynamism, technique… We have an excellent team and these qualities suit us perfectly. But I must also emphasize that the whole team has great quality. Everyone did it so good in possession in the second half, whether it was Lamine, Casadó or Cubarsí. At their age it is an excellent level of performance.”

Raphinha becomes Barca’s first Brazilian to score a hat-trick in the Champions League since Neymar did so in 2013. Ronaldinho and Rivaldo also succeeded, but Raphinha was never meant to play at that level. The idea of ​​him leaving was even mooted in the summer. He was furious that some Barça fans were buying shirts with his number 11 on the back, but the name of Nico Williams – the Athletic Club winger linked to Barça at the time. “It was disrespectful,” he said on Tuesday before the match against Bayern. “It hurt. People have to respect the players who are here.”

There wasn’t a single Barça fan among the 50,312 spectators whose respect he didn’t have by the time he buried his third goal. In the second tier 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 man.

This was not a crazy achievement either. He has already scored one hat-trick this season, against Real Valladolid in LaLiga, and he now has nine goals for the season in all competitions – and a further six assists. To put that into perspective, he scored just ten goals in each of his first two seasons at Barça. It’s only October 23rd.

After the final whistle there was more celebration. The Barça players threw Raphinha in the air and he was awarded the MVP trophy. “It will be for my son, even though he prefers balls,” he said when asked where he would put the trophy. Fortunately, his hat-trick also earned him the match ball. His son will be happy.

The victory provided some optimism for Barça. After starting their Champions League campaign with a defeat to AS Monaco, they have now won back-to-back games in the competition and are one point behind the top eight. However, thoughts quickly turned to Saturday’s trip to Madrid, where a win would give them a six-point lead at the top of the table ahead of their home fixture. Classic rivals.

“If you don’t bounce, you’re a Madrid fan,” Barça fans chanted after the match. Many players forced them to continue bouncing.

It makes for an exciting match in the Santiago Bernabéu. Raphinha’s treble came on the night after Vinicius Junior scored one as Madrid came from behind to beat German opponents in Borussia Dortmund 5-2. This weekend the two Brazilians face each other.

For Bayern this was the second defeat in a row in the Champions League. They have three points from three games and Dinamo Zagreb – who they defeated 9-2 in their opening match – are now ahead in the standings. Vincent Kompany’s side remain unbeaten and top of the Bundesliga, but they appear to have a lot of work to do in Europe ahead of upcoming games against Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain.