In his 100th game for Barça, the Brazilian stole the show and scored a hat-trick

Brazilian fans have good reasons to once again believe in the national team’s attack this midweek. One day after Vini Jr. gave Real Madrid a show against Borussia Dortmund, with a hat-trick, it was Raphinha’s turn to steal the show in the Champions League. In his 100th game for Barcelona, ​​the captain repeated his compatriot and scored three times in the 4-1 rout that ended a streak of victories against Bayern Munich that lasted more than nine years on a day of celebration and “olé” of the stands.

Since May 2015, Catalan fans have not celebrated a triumph against a strong Bavarian team. After those 3-0 in the semi-final of the 2014/15 edition, there were six consecutive defeats, one of which was a humiliating 8-2. The disenchantment came with the green and yellow signature completed with the former’s law, in a goal by Lewandowski.

The positive result in the long-awaited game of the round was of vital importance for Barcelona to stay in the top block – the top eight are guaranteed directly in the round of 16 – by reaching six points in 10th place. Furthermore, it left the Germans in a delicate situation after their second defeat in three games and only 22nd place.

Also excited is coach Dorival Júnior, who calls up the Brazilian team for the last games of the year in the Qualifiers on the 28th. The starter Vini Jr. will return after being cut due to injury in the last round and Raphinha will certainly be a good partner in the games ahead. of Venezuela and Uruguay, on the 14th and 19th, respectively.

Barcelona took to the field amid huge fan celebrations at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium to put an end to the Bavarians’ six consecutive defeats in the competition. The team has never done so well in the face of its thorn in the side of the Champions League. And he still had an “intimate enemy”, since coach Hansi Flick was Bayern’s commander.

A very motivated player for the main match of the third round was striker Raphinha, at Barcelona playing as a midfielder because of the lineup of prodigy Lamine Yamal. In his 100th game with the maroon shirt, the Brazilian confirmed his great moment when he received a free throw from Fermín López, showed coolness to dribble past the experienced Neuer and opened the scoring after just 58 seconds.

After conceding 11 goals in the last four matches against Bayern and not scoring once (three 3-0 defeats and one 2-0 defeat), the Catalans were in an unusual situation in the match. They dominated the scoreboard and had counterattacks in their favor. But they had a scare in the ninth minute, with Kane, free, equalizing with a header. VAR caught the offside, to the relief and celebration of the stands.

Backing down and just trying to defend against a rival with enormous offensive power, however, is a mistake that Barcelona made too early and ended up paying dearly. Bayern was not intimidated by the pressure from the fans and remained strong in the search for equality. And he saw Kane hit the net again in the 17th minute, this time after a cross from Gnabry, from the left. The Bavarian top scorer’s 14th goal of the season was confirmed by the video referee this time.

Needing the triumph and at home, Barcelona took a while to assimilate the blow. But, little by little, he began to take risks. Neuer stamped Lamine Yamal in an attempt to clear it and almost gave it away. At 36, the law of his ex became present. Fermín López pushed defender Kim and took the opportunity to play for Lewandowski to put the Spanish back in front. The Pole did not celebrate out of respect for Bayern, who complained a lot about the unmarked foul that led to the play.

Based on long throws seeking the speed of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, Barcelona, ​​after enduring a great struggle, went into the break with a huge advantage after the Brazilian scored for the second time in the match. The number 11 received it from Marc Casadó, dominated and went after Raphael Guerreiro’s marking. With skill, he got rid of the defender and sent it into the corner.

As expected, Bayern returned from the dressing room attacking and somewhat nervous. João Palhinha played the chance to reduce the score, free in the area. Barcelona were in no hurry, nor did they want to take risks. Posted behind, he showed confidence in holding back the rival’s offensive momentum and only wanted to invest in counterattacks.

Even Raphinha helped with the marking. But he had speed and demonstrated that he is not in a great phase at Barcelona by chance. The Brazilian received the ball from Yamal at speed in the 10th minute and once again was cool to beat Neuer without defense.

Coach Vincent Kompany lost patience with his starters and immediately changed four players at once. I wanted to lessen the embarrassment and, at the same time, avoid an even greater beating. Gnabry hit, missing a good chance. After suffering in the last few games, Barcelona’s fans went wild and started shouting “olé” at every pass from their idols. Raphinha left at 30, given a standing ovation by more than 50,000 fans.

MANCHESTER CITY AND LIVERPOOL SHOW STRENGTH

Manchester City received Sparta Praga ready to face the group at the top of the table and spared no time. With a devastating start, it soon led to 1-0 with Foden hitting low after just 3 minutes. The predicted easy result, however, only came in the second stage. After Aké had a goal disallowed by the VAR, Haaland, twice, Stones and Matheus Nunes, with a penalty, scored and defined the 5-0 victory and the maintenance of the unbeaten record.

Liverpool, on the other hand, wanted to maintain the perfect campaign in their tough visit to RB Leipzig, and fulfill their promise to attack by opening up a lead with goalscorer Darwin Núñez in the first half, just supporting Salah’s header. Arne Slot’s team knew how to defend themselves in the second stage and confirmed the 1-0 that took them to second place, with the same 9 points as Aston Villa, leader in the tiebreaker criteria.

In a beautiful game between two undefeated teams who until then had 100% success, the surprising Brest and the stable Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 in France, moving up to seven points and among the best.

The young German Wirtz gave the visiting team an advantage, but Melou left the score equal in the opening stages. The final minutes were full of excitement, with attacks from Bayer and counterattacks at speed from Brest in search of victory and maintaining the perfect campaign. In the end, the fans recognized the teams’ efforts.

In other results this Wednesday, Atalanta and Celtic were 0-0, while Atlético de Madrid hosted Lille and conceded the comeback after taking the lead with Julián Álvarez. Zhegrova and David (twice) scored 3-1. Other games: Benfica 1 x 3 Feyenoord; RB Salzburg 0 x 2 Dinamo Zagreb; Young Boys 0 x 1 Inter Milan.