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Raphinha celebrates the second of his two goals against Bayern. Alberto Estévez / EFE
Apotheosis of Flick's Barça against Bayern

Apotheosis of Flick's Barça against Bayern

The Blaugrana team graduates in Europe with a 'hat-trick' from a superlative Raphinha and arrives ready for the classic

Daniel Panero

Madrid

Miércoles, 23 de octubre 2024, 23:20

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Barça made a statement in the Champions League. The team led by Hansi Flick defeated Bayern Munich 4-1 at Lluis Companys in a match that confirmed the good feelings shown since the start of the season. Raphinha's goals, scoring three times, and Lewandowski's goal banished old ghosts against the German team and sent a message to Real Madrid just three days before the classic. Barça is back.

Even before the match started, it was clear that the saying "football is a state of mind" is not an empty phrase. The Champions League anthem, which had previously intimidated the culés, sounded different this time. The fans also sang the anthem differently, and even Barça played like never before. Europe was not going to alter the script of a confident team that does not look at the size of the opponent. The culés had a plan and were going to stick to it, something that currently has more pros than cons.

The advantages were evident in a frantic start that overwhelmed Bayern. Barça pressed in the opponent's half like a pack of wolves and found success after a ball behind the center-backs that Raphinha caught to dribble past Neuer and open the scoring while the crowd was still processing Flick's lineup. And that was despite the German making few changes. It made no sense to alter what works, and he opted for the same lineup that defeated Sevilla, except for the inclusion of Fermín López, positioned as an attacking midfielder behind Lewandowski.

Barcelona

Iñaki Peña, Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde, Casadó, Pedri (Gavi, min. 85), Lamine Yamal (Ansu Fati, min. 85), Fermín (Frenkie de Jong, min. 61), Raphinha (Dani Olmo, min. 76) and Lewandowski (Pau Víctor, min. 85).

4

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1

Bayern Munich

Neuer, Guerreiro (Laimer, min. 85), Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Davies, Palhinha (Goretzka, min. 60), Kimmich, Olise (Sané, min. 60), Müller (Musiala, min. 60), Gnabry (Coman, min. 60) and Kane.

  • Goals: 1-0: min. 1, Raphinha. 1-1: min. 18, Kane. 2-1: min. 36, Lewandowski. 3-1: min. 45, Raphinha. 4-1: min. 56, Raphinha.

  • Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia). Booked Kimmich and Goretzka.

  • Incidents: Match of the third round of the Champions League played at the Lluis Companys Stadium in front of 50,312 spectators.

The weaknesses appeared immediately after, when the pressure stopped yielding rewards. Vincent Kompany's Bayern is a team with plenty of resources to find variations in play. The Germans know how to play out from the back and find players like Kane to relieve pressure and wingers like Olise or Gnabry to create imbalances. This is how they calmed the atmosphere at Lluis Companys and changed the game. Kane warned with a disallowed goal for offside, and the Englishman appeared again to finish a measured cross from Gnabry and punish a Barça halted by the good work of their rival.

It was Barça's worst moment in a first half written for the hope of the culés. Flick's team not only overcame the setback but did so faithfully to the plan drawn up by their coach. Every contested ball was a battle, and every duel began to fall on the Blaugrana side, with a team emboldened by the possibility of taking a bite out of Bayern. It was then that Fermín's cunning appeared, slightly unbalancing Kim Min-jae in a jump and facing Neuer to gift the goal to Lewandowski. The Polish striker's goal left Bayern groggy, and they did not recover, going into halftime with another blow after Raphinha turned an isolated ball into a work of art finished with his right foot to the far post.

La sentencia

After the restart, Barça hesitated. Going forward carried risks, but stepping back also did against a Bayern that monopolized the ball. The culés' response was hybrid. Flick's team pressed, but a few meters further back, waiting for the opportunity to launch counterattacks with the speed of their forwards. The plan could not have worked better. Pedri escaped the Germans' pressure, found Lamine Yamal, and the young winger pulled a long pass out of his hat that Raphinha, the best of the night, converted into the fourth after controlling the ball on the run and shooting across, once again unstoppable for Neuer.

With the game already on track, it was time to enjoy. Lluis Companys rubbed their eyes and cheered with olés the passes of their team against a rival that has been the protagonist of several culé nightmares in recent years. No trace of the all-powerful Bayern. Flick took the opportunity to give minutes to Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo, two players who continue to gain rhythm for what is to come, and experienced his best day since becoming Barça's coach. It was the moment of confirmation just three days before the classic against Real Madrid.

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