Flick remains pragmatic as Barca blasts four past Bayern

BARCELONA — Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said it was too early to say his team was a contender to win the Champions League, even after it hammered six-time winner Bayern Munich 4-1 on Wednesday.

The Catalans last won the trophy in 2015 and had lost their prior six matches against Bayern, but they crushed last season's semifinalist, with Raphinha scoring a hat-trick at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

"It's too soon (to say we're contenders), we just started the season, we're on a long road in La Liga and the Champions League," Flick told reporters.

"We're aiming to go game by game and we're preparing ourselves like that."

La Liga leader Barcelona faces Spanish and European champion Real Madrid on Saturday in a mouthwatering El Clasico league fixture, which will be another key test for Flick's side.

Flick said the commanding 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich was a massive confidence boost.

"It's unbelievable, this win. Bayern are a wonderful team, with fantastic players who know how to play very well. You want to see them play. And, of course, if you win this kind of game you have to celebrate. This win gives us the confidence to believe in our quality for the game coming up on Saturday," Flick said.

"With the level our team has been showing, you can achieve great things. We played with a lot of courage, and that's why I'm very happy. The team wants to learn, and we will learn from the things we didn't do as well.

"We have one day less than Real Madrid to prepare for the Clasico, but all the players want to play this game. We will prepare well and be ready."

Raphinha opened the scoring inside the first minute, and, after Harry Kane equalized, Robert Lewandowski put Barca back ahead.

Two more strikes by former Leeds United winger Raphinha, on his 100th appearance for the club, sealed Barcelona's emphatic victory.

" (Raphinha) is a good example of how a player can impact how a team can function," Flick said.

"He always has a good attitude in training and in matches. He's very important for us, also because of the counterattacking pressure he exerts. And also because of the way he prepares to score. He has a good dynamic on the ball, and he played an extraordinary game.

"His offensive and defensive dynamics, and his good technique, are something special.

"I've never had a player like him and he helps us a lot."

Each of his three goals stood out in its own way. First, Raphinha darted in behind Bayern's defense to score in the very first minute, then he shot the ball between defender Dayot Upamecano's legs to score his second just before halftime.

The third goal saw Raphinha display his technique to control Lamine Yamal's cross-field pass on his chest and exploit the gap between two defenders before completing the hat-trick.

Barcelona's fans were again on their feet to applaud when Raphinha, who had also captained the team because of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's injury, was substituted in the 75th, leaving him a little fresher for Saturday's clash with Madrid.

Off-target Munich

Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany said his team paid the price for missed opportunities in the big loss, its second consecutive defeat in the competition.

Kompany said his side had not been able to make the most of the chances it created after Kane's volley canceled out Raphinha's opener, and instead left the door open for Barca to retake the lead and kill off the game with quick counterattacks.

"I think, maybe, one very, very simple analysis I can make is when you have control of a game and you have so much possession in a place like today, against a team like we played today, you have to use the opportunity to take the momentum away from the opposition team," Kompany told a news conference.

"The way it went in the start of the first half is what we thought we could achieve in this game. It was where it felt like we could edge this game. We felt like this could turn for us.

"But, in key moments we got outdone, and, for that reason, the result is fairly, fairly heavy. We played against a good team, but we have the ambition to win these games, so, today, we know we have to learn from this game so we are stronger going forward."

Bayern began its Champions League campaign with a record-breaking 9-2 demolition of Dinamo Zagreb, but is now 23rd in the Champions League standings, one place below the Croatian side, after back-to-back losses to Aston Villa and Barcelona. Across all competitions, Bayern has won just one of its last five games.

The ease with which Raphinha was able to exploit gaps in the backline could see questions resurface about whether Bayern, which has now conceded seven goals in its last three games, remains fragile in defense.

Agencies