Raphinha says Bayern rout ‘revenge for the fans’

Barcelona forward Raphinha said Wednesday’s thumping 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich served as “revenge” for the club’s supporters for past results against the German giants.

Raphinha starred with a hat trick on his 100th appearance for Barça 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 Barça when they lost 8-2 to Bayern in 2020 — but he said he experienced them all as a supporter.

“It was 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.”

Barça 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 opened the scoring inside the opening minute, but Harry Kane drew Bayern level with his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.

Robert Lewandowski restored Barça’s lead before half-time and two more goals from Raphinha either side of the break earned Barça 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 Barça on the night, now has nine goals and six assists in all competitions in what is his third season with the Blaugrana. He was named MVP by UEFA for his performance.

“I will give [the MVP] 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 Barça up perfectly for Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid for the first Classic of the season. If they win at the Santiago Bernabéu, 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 Barça 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 different story for Bayern, who tasted 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 equaliser 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.”