Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona beat Villa 3-0, but the Brazilian said he did not want to discuss the match after dedicating his performance to Jesús de Miguel. “I want to send a lot of strength to Jesús’s family and may he rest in peace. It’s not a good day to talk about football,” he said after being named player of the match.
Lamine Yamal also made history, scoring after seven minutes to become the player with the most Champions League goals before turning 20. His 14th goal in the competition moved him past Kylian Mbappé’s previous mark of 13. At 19 years and 113 days, Yamal led Barcelona in shots, with six, and touches in the attacking third, with 21.
Raphinha’s brace took his tally to 19 goals in 13 matches. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said the forward had been affected by what happened in Tenerife, and explained that his reaction to being substituted was not necessarily frustration with the change. Raphinha was taken off while on a yellow card, Flick said, because he wanted to protect him.
Barcelona had 64.7% possession, completed 602 passes with 91.7% accuracy and recorded 16 shots, eight on target. Villa managed one shot on target, which Joan García saved. Flick praised the team’s compact defending and the performance of the back line and goalkeeper.
The result followed Barcelona’s 6-1 win over Alavés and came after consecutive defeats to PSG and Real Madrid. The main concern was Rodri, who left the pitch at halftime with discomfort in his right calf and was replaced by Marc Bernal. Flick said the club would assess him the following day. Barcelona are due to visit Atlético at the Metropolitano on Sunday.
Sources: El País Deportes.