It happened in Montjuïc, but it could have happened in any of the fields that Hansi Flick’s Barcelona has set foot on this season. It happened against Bayern Munich, but it could have happened against any of the 13 rivals Barcelona has faced this season. What was to come happened: Raphinha dressed as a Barça hero and did it in the best place it could happen, the provisional Barça home until next year, and against the best continental rival that the Barça team could face to erase their last hardships in Europe. Barcelona felt like Barcelona against Bayern, but Raphinha felt much more than Raphinha. At least, with respect to the one who had arrived in Barcelona when Xavi was in charge of the Barça locker room. It was a matter of trust, probably also of resetting memory. And Raphinha makes Barça look great (again) in Europe.
“This match surely could have been a Champions League final match. Being able to win this way in front of our fans is quite special,” Raphinha celebrated. The night in Montjuïc invited us to forget the past. Barça needed to erase from memory its resume with Bayern Munich, a history of 10 defeats in the Champions League. His coach, Hansi Flick, had to forget his sentimentality, as did Lewandowski, but Raphinha needed to erase the doubts of his past with a great Champions League night. No one had mercy on Bayern, neither Flick nor Lewandowski, much less Raphinha. “I think we played a very good game as a team. This is the most important thing,” said the Brazilian. A joy that Flick shared: “I’m happy, almost 10. It’s incredible. Bayern are a wonderful team.”
From the outset, for Barcelona to lose respect for Bayern, Raphinha appeared to end a streak of 15 goals in a row for the German team without any goals from Barça: four in the 2020 Champions League (2-8), six in 2021 (0-3 and 3-0) and five in 2022 (2-0 and 0-3). Paradoxically, Raphinha’s goal did not give Barcelona peace of mind. On the contrary. Flick’s formula did not work in Montjuïc. “After the first goal, we had 15 minutes in which it was difficult for us, but it is good to see that the team knows how to recover despite being young,” analyzed the Barça coach. Like few times this season, a restless Flick was seen on the sideline.
The German coach gesticulated and shouted like never before to wake up his boys, who were outplayed by Bayern, until Kane equalized the score. But Flick’s team did not collapse as Barcelona usually did in Europe, even when Messi was still dressed as a Barça player. Flick’s bet on Fermín, then, made sense. The youth player fought (pushed) Min-Jae and Lewandowski showed no mercy towards his former team. He didn’t celebrate the goal, it’s true, but his goal served to silence Bayern on Montjuïc. “This season we are doing very well, with confidence. There was a buzz about what could happen in the Champions League and we have responded, we are a great team. We had to show what we were and we got an A,” Lamine stressed.
According to the Barcelona players, it was a question of trust. In reality it was to forget his past, as Flick and Lewandowski also did. Of course, also Barcelona. It happened in Montjuïc and it happened against Bayern. No better place or rival to recover morale in Europe. Furthermore, just when Madrid appears on the agenda. Flick avoided talking about the classic: “I don’t think about the classic, but about what is going to happen from tomorrow.” Raphinha, on the other hand, is looking forward to it: “The classic looks like it will be a very good match. “It is one of the best games in the world.” No wonder, the Brazilian arrives at the Bernabéu on fire.
