Barcelona thrashed Bayern Munich 4-1 in a UEFA Champions League group match at home last Wednesday, October 23. Raphinha scored a brilliant hat-trick for the Catalans and Robert Lewandowski added another, while Harry Kane scored the only goal for Bayern.
It was a resounding win for Barca under their manager Hansi Flick, who was Bayern’s manager when the Bavarians thrashed Barcelona 8-2 on their way to winning the Champions League in 2020. However, what was probably more important was how Barcelona seemed to have shifted from their usual playing style involving short passes and more ball-possession.
Barcelona Beat Bayern on the Counter
Barcelona scored three of their four goals through counter-attacks. Raphinha’s runs past the high defensive line kept tormenting the Bavarians throughout the match. It was a far cry from the possession-oriented style that became synonymous with Barcelona since Johan Cruyff professed it at the club in the 1990s. Flick’s Barcelona is faster and more direct in its approach.
Barcelona played through Bayern’s high-press in the match and kept playing long forward balls at times to their forwards. Their build-ups were also typically a lot quicker than what they used to be under Frank Rijkaard or Pep Guardiola 15-20 years ago.
Bayern’s defence was also to blame for at least couple of the home side’s goals. The playing style made popular by the wonderful teams comprising of the likes of Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets in the 2000s and 2010s seems to be a distant memory now.
Flick is a German who learned his football in a different way than the previous Dutch managers of Barca like Cruyff, Rijkaard and Ronald Koeman did. With speedy wingers like Raphinha and Lamine Yamal in his team and a seasoned finisher like Lewandowski alongside him, he can afford to keep playing through counter-attacks.
Quality passers like Pedri, Gavi and Fermin Lopez can thus also contribute to the team’s cause with their accurate passing. The Catalans have not won the Champions League since 2015 and maybe, it is now time to make amends for the frustrations of the past decade.
Barcelona Also Impressing in LaLiga
The Catalans is at the top of the La Liga table with 27 points from 10 matches, which is three more than Real Madrid’s tally. More importantly, they have scored a staggering 33 goals in those 10 matches, which is an amazing record. In comparison, Real Madrid has scored only 21 goals so far.
Raphinha, into his third season at Barca, has scored nine goals in 13 matches this season already. Lewandowski, meanwhile, has scored a whopping 15 goals in 13 matches, which makes him one of the most prolific strikers in Europe this season.
Yamal is also there as one of the most promising youngsters in world football.
Flick will be pinning his hopes on his brilliant front-three and back his defenders and forwards to play quick passes to them frequently on counter. It remains to be seen whether he is able to win his second Champions League title as a manager. If his players keep playing up to their potential, his team will certainly remain a contender.