This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
When Hansi Flick lifted the Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich in 2020 — on his way to a famous sextuple — the Bavarians were on top of the world and Flick, their king.
Now Flick is in charge at FC Barcelona, and Bayern’s old Champions League doormats — Flick had dealt Barça an 8-2 defeat himself in that 2020 run, with the Catalans going 0-4 with no goals scored and eleven conceded in the four meetings since — are no longer looking like doormats.
Instead, Barça served Bayern a big heaping of humble pie on Wednesday in a 4-1 win that looked for a time like a contest, until Flick’s men exploded — powered by a hat-trick from Brazilian winger Raphinha.
Comments from Flick, Lewandowski, and Raphinha were captured after the match by FCBayern.com
“I’m proud of how we came back after the equaliser, as we had a period in the game when we weren’t so brave. We created some excellent chances. I’m happy; we have a very young team who are implementing our ideas very well,” said the Barça head coach, who has happy to give credit to his former club in victory. “Bayern Munich are an outstanding team and play very attractive football. We were a touch better today, a touch more clinical in our finishing.”
“I’m very pleased. A victory over Bayern Munich is something special,” added Lewandowski, Bayern’s striker for eight seasons. “I experienced a lot with Bayern and that stays with me. Today on the pitch I had to put that aside and focus on the game. After the early goal, we played a bit too deep but then we were much improved again. This performance can give us confidence.”
Finally, the hat-trick hero, Raphinha — who likewise knew how big the occasion was.
“We’ll leave tonight extremely satisfied; it was a very important game for us. We played very well — that’s the most important thing for me, that we played well as a team. I said beforehand that it feels like a Champions League final against FC Bayern. So to win in this way against an opponent like Bayern is extraordinary. It was important to get our second win in the Champions League this season,” Raphinha stated.
Bayern fans right now:
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