How Raphinha channelled his inner Ronaldo by stunning Bayern
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Raphinha netted a Champions League hat-trick against Bayern Munich to evoke memories of the competition's greatest player, Cristiano Ronaldo (Credit: Imago)

How Raphinha channelled his inner Ronaldo by stunning Bayern

Seye Omidiora 23:46 - 23.10.2024

The Barcelona forward netted a hat-trick against the Bavarians on Wednesday, evoking memories of the Champions League's greatest goalscorer.

Raphinha notched a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday as the Spanish side finally got the better of their Champions League bete noire. 

Barcelona vs Bayern

No sooner had the game commenced than Raphinha put the Blaugrana 1-0 up, but Harry Kane levelled in the 18th minute, moments after having one disallowed for a marginal offside. 

Raphinha
Raphinha netted three times for Barcelona against Bayern (Credit: Imago)

Robert Lewandowski put Hansi Flick's men back in front in the 36th minute before two more Raphinha strikes sealed the home side's commanding victory at Bayern's expense. 

Wednesday's result saw the Spanish side end their six-match losing run against Bayern, a sequence of results that included an 8-2 thrashing of the LaLiga giants in August 2020. 

Raphinha was the star of the show as Barca notched their first success against the Bundesliga outfit since May 2015, emulating Cristiano Ronaldo in the process. 

Raphinha
Raphinha put Bayern Munich to the sword with his stunning hat-trick (Credit: Imago)

How Raphinha matched Ronaldo

The Brazilian’s hat-trick means he becomes the fourth player to net three times against the Bavarian giants in Europe's premier club competition, a feat previously achieved by Roy Makaay, Sergio Aguero and Ronaldo. 

Ronaldo netted nine goals in eight appearances against the German giants, all scored for Real Madrid. 

His last three came in the quarter-final second-leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he scored three times for Los Blancos in their 4-2 win on the night and 6-3 aggregate success.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo with the match ball after his stunning hat-trick for Real Madrid against Bayern in 2017 (Credit: Imago)

What next for Barcelona?

Wednesday’s European triumph for Flick’s men sees them head into Saturday's El Clasico tussle with Real Madrid in high spirits.