BarcelonaA turning point for Barça in the Champions League. With Raphinha Dias as the execution arm, Hansi Flick’s men went over Bayern Munich in an evening that marks a before and after in Europe and that consolidates all the great sensations gathered at the start of the season. Next, some hot notes.
A slogan come true. In 2021, Joan Laporta repeated dozens of times in the electoral campaign that, with him back in the presidency, “the illusion of Barcelona” would return. Next to two more concrete promises such as the renewal of Messi or the economic recovery of the entity, this slogan floated in the atmosphere without knowing quite what it meant. Already at the box office, the manager took him out for a walk with Xavi’s League – remembered by the 1-0 – and also in some peaks of joy in the Champions League, but he seemed more forced and childish than not real because the men’s first team of football, engine of cultural passions, continued to dominate the great European nights. However, this has now changed. Beating Bayern, the ogre of 2-8 and more dark evenings, is very big. It can already be said very loudly: this Barça is capable of everything.
Metamorphosis completed. What else can be said about Raphinha? The most important player in the ranks of Xavi’s Barça is the red pepper in the delicious stir-fry that Flick has patented in this exciting start to the season. Definitively removed from the right wing (where he was thought to perform better than anywhere else), and freed from the need to touch the ball to feel useful, he battles with Madrid’s Vinícius to be the most decisive Brazilian of the moment. It is the opposite example of the innate talent that Lamine Yamal embodies. Like the dynamo of a bicycle, it does not negotiate the number of kilometers – or the speed to do them – when it comes to lighting the way. He thinks running, he waits running, he rests running and, running, he crunches a whole Bayern with one hat trick.
Yes, Robert. Despite going towards 37, Lewandowski still has rock to deliver. However, he has needed the arrival of a coach who understands him completely to do what many of us asked him to do to justify a millionaire salary and four years of contract: to be decisive also against beasts as brown as Bayern. Maybe because he knows the Bavarian recipe well, the we Blaugrana didn’t just shine to make it 2-1 in an action by Fermín. Apart from the goal, it was very valuable that he got sick of offloading balls and dragging opponents for his teammates to ambush. No, he has not come to Barcelona to retire or to feed his wife’s Instagram. Long live the best ram of the decade.
When the replica is crisp the original. Let’s talk about Casadó and Kimmich. With the Valais midfielder being compared in and out of the dressing room to Bayern’s thermometer, Wednesday’s clash was a great day to assess whether the alleged replica paled in comparison to the alleged original. Well, the verdict couldn’t be clearer. From now on we must all abandon the similitude. Casadó must be valued as a unique piece. His performance against Bayern was brutal. Defensively voracious (12.66 kilometers) and offensively clairvoyant – what an assist in the 3-1 –, this fruit of La Masia is ready to make jam in a small jar. Next to him, Kimmich, who appeared in the photo of the 1-0, seemed white brand.
