Barcelona captain Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead them to a commanding 4-1 home victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, ending a near decade-long winless run against the German powerhouse. After six consecutive losses in which they were outscored 22 goals to four by Bayern, including a humiliating 8-2 defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals four years ago, Barcelona got their revenge with a great attacking performance led by their Brazilian captain. Raphinha’s inspired night started when he gave Barca the lead a little over a minute after kickoff when he received a fine pass by midfielder Fermin Lopez, beat the offside trap and rounded the onrushing Manuel Neuer before tapping into the empty net.
Bayern did not seemed affected by the setback and were mostly in control against the home side, who looked comfortable playing on the counter-attack and exploiting the speed of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. But if Barca looked dangerous with the ball and always one quick counter away from scoring, they were far from imposing on defence and gave too much space for Bayern who should have done better with the many chances they had. Bayern’s wingers Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise were a constant menace against an aggressively high defensive line deployed by Barca boss Hansi Flick.
The visiting side thought they have scored the equaliser in the 10th minute through a Harry Kane header, but his effort was ruled out after the VAR replay caught the England .