FC Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich: Poetry in motion
Bayern Munich have inflicted some severe pain on Barça in recent years. Too much pain. And that’s why tonight’s victory was so sweet, so special.
23 October 2024 was the day that the Catalans finally got their own backs and buried the ghosts of that night of horror in Lisbon four years ago, ironically largely thanks to the very same coach who orchestrated the 8-2 that only now can we speak of again.
Because that loss now belongs in another epoch. Barça have turned the page. And after a series of extraordinary wins in the domestic championship, they showed today that they are now ready to do some serious business in Europe too.
Raphinha hat-trick
It was a glorious night in every way, from the team, from the fans, everyone. It was such a brilliant all-round display that it feels wrong to single out any one player for special praise. But it’s impossible not to. Every Barça player deserves ten out of ten, yet one name still stands head and shoulders over all the rest.
Raphael Dias Belloli. Raphinha. Author of not one, not two, but three absolute scorchers. What a way to celebrate your 100th game for the club!
The first came after just 54 seconds, when a mistake in the Bayern defence sent the Brazilian clean through on goal, and he got the better of Manuel Neuer with the finish.
Kane hits back
Despite the bonus of Barça’s second quickest goal ever in the competition, it was the Germans who had the best of the next twenty minutes or so, and Harry Kane had already had one goal disallowed for offside before he got onto the end of another cross, and this time VAR had nothing to say.
Barça needed to liven up, and boy they did they do that… And more! What we were about to see goes down as one of all-time great performances in this beautiful competition.
Robert Lewandowski was clearly enjoying playing against his former club. He’s had some great nights in the blaugrana jersey, but this one up there with the best. A brilliant setup from Fermin Lopez, and a majestic finish from the Pole.
Rock and roll
Amid possibly the most electric atmosphere since Barça started playing at the Estadi Olimpic, they were back in the lead. And the stadium bounced with joy.
And on the stroke of half-time, there was even more reason to bounce. A gargantuan pass from Marc Casadó was collected by Raphinha and the solo run that followed was as much a joy to behold as the finish.
And if that goal looked good, what we were going to see in the 56th minute was even better. This time it was Lamine Yamal playing Raphinha through, and despite having two defenders on him and a goalkeeper of the calibre of Neuer to beat, the Barça forward produced perhaps the best goal of his lifetime to cap perhaps the greatest performance of his lifetime.
4-1. From four shots on target, Barça had four goals. Finishing doesn’t get any more clinical than that.
Oh what a night!
With the fans singing the Barça anthem with more verve, more conviction, than they have done for a long time, there was a further bonus as Dani Olmo took to the field. Yet another player welcomed back from injury.
The rest of the game was little more than an epilogue, with further Barça goals looking considerably more likely than any kind of consolation for the well-beaten Bavarians. In fact, it’s the first time that they have ever lost three consecutive Champions League games away from home.
To think that in a game as high profile as this, Flick could even afford the luxury of taking off Raphinha, Pedri, Fermin, Lewandowski and Yamal ahead of time. But he knows that immediately after this game there’s another monster fixture coming up on Saturday. Yup, El Clásico. That is going to be roasting!