Raphinha believes Barcelona must be proud of their response after they bounced back from Saturday's defeat to Osasuna with a five-star Champions League display.
Barca opened in the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at Monaco two weeks ago and, after a great start to their LaLiga campaign that featured seven consecutive wins, slumped to a stunning 4-2 defeat at Osasuna over the weekend.
Yet Hansi Flick's team were back at their best as they cruised to an emphatic 5-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday.
Raphinha, who was Player of the Match following a goal and an assist for one of Robert Lewandowski's two strikes, said the result was the confidence boost the team needed to keep improving.
"We knew that with this new Champions League format, after losing our debut at Monaco we needed to hit back quickly and decisively and that is what we did," Raphinha told Movistar Plus.
"The LaLiga loss at Osasuna over the weekend was an added pressure but the team responded well and I'm proud of our performance.
"In this new Champions League, not only every point but also every goal scored counts so the more, the better."
Flick echoed Raphinha's sentiment, even though he knows there is a long way to go.
"We have to start the games a bit stronger. We need to be more dynamic as a team from the start but at least it has been improving as the minutes have gone by," Flick told Movistar Plus.
"Nobody knows how this new Champions League will work but it is always good to have a good goal difference.
"I'm happy with Raphinha who played really well but we can't talk about just one player, the most important is to play as a team. Raphinha can only play this well if his teammates play well too."
In scoring twice, Lewandowski became only the second player to net 50 Champions League goals after turning 30, following Cristiano Ronaldo.
Dom Rep’s Cibao, Moca take unbeaten records into Carib Cup semis after contrasting wins in final group fixtures
Domincan Republic’s Cibao FC and Moca FC will take their rich vein of form into the semi-finals of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup as both closed out the group stages with contrasting 4-1 and 2-1 victories over Haiti’s Ouanaminthe FC and Antiguan outfit Grenades FC on Tuesday.
The results saw both teams consolidating their hold on the top two spots in Group B with unbeaten records. They ended on 10 points each, but Cibao FC took group honours by virtue of a slightly better goal difference.
Port of Spain, Grenades, and Ouanaminthe all ended on two points each in that exact order.
As they have done since the start of the tournament, Cibao FC demonstrated class and quality in making light work of Ouanaminthe at Estadio Cibao FC.
After bossing possession from the onset, Cibao eventually broke the deadlock courtesy of Eddipo Rodriguez, who fired home in the 33rd from Jean Lopez’s service.
Before Ouanaminthe could catch their breaths, they were hit again, as Carlos Heredia doubled Cibao’s lead with a tidy finish in the 37th after dispossessing a defender.
Cibao picked up where they left off on the resumption and pushed the game beyond Ouanaminthe’s reach when Rivaldo Correa drove home a right-footer from the top of the 18-yard box to make it 3-0.
Moca's Guillermo de Pena celebrates the winning goal against Grenades FC.
Ouanaminthe pulled one back in the 55th through Dave Altidor Jr, who fired home from close range.
However, that strike proved to be a mere consolation as Luis Quezada tucked away a calm left-footed effort to complete Cibao’s win.
Meanwhile, Moca produced a come-from-behind performance to top Grenades at Estadio Moca 85.
After playing out a goalless first half, Kamol Griffith latched on to a cross from Malcolm Stewart to put Grenades ahead in the 50th minute.
But the lead was short-lived as Gustavo Ascona expertly headed home from Clifford Thomas’ weighted cross in the 53rd to pull Moca FC level.
Guillermo de Pena completed Moca FC’s comeback when he finished off a well-worked training ground-style build up from a set play in the 61st minute.
Moca went down to 10 players when Carlos Russell picked up a second yellow in the 76th minute, and the numerical disadvantage allowed Grenades FC to attempt a rally in the latter stages of the contest.
However, Moca’s captain and goalkeeper Miguel Baez pulled off a stunning save to deny Keanu Barrett’s effort from a distance to ensure his team came away with all three points.
Cibao FC will face the Group A runner-up, while Moca FC await the Group A winner. Those spots are to be decided between currently leaders Jamaica’s Cavaliers (six points), Haiti’s Real Hope (five points) and another Jamaican outfit Mount Pleasant FA (four points).
Cavalier are set to tackle out-of-contention Arnett Gardens on Thursday, at the same time that Mount Pleasant and Real Hope will lock horns in what should be mouth-watering clash.
'Man Utd are going to make a success of this season', Ten Hag insists
Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United are "going to make a success of the season", despite their difficult start to the 2024-25 campaign.
United are 12th in the Premier League, having collected just seven points; their joint-fewest after the first six games in a single season (matching their total from 2013-14 and 2020-21).
Sunday's 3-0 defeat by Tottenham at Old Trafford provided their latest setback, while increasing the pressure on Ten Hag, whose side face Porto in the Europa League on Thursday before returning to Premier League action against Aston Villa three days later.
Against Spurs, United conceded in the first three minutes of both halves in a single Premier League game for only the second time, while allowing their third-highest xG (4.59) by an opponent since records began in 2009.
Ange Postecoglou's side also created nine big chances, with a team only registering more in five previous games in Premier League history.
The Red Devils also have an xG against of 11.04, a tally only lower than Brentford and the three promoted sides, but Ten Hag is confident the tide will turn.
"We are going to make a success of the season," he told Sky Sports.
"Nothing is easy, but this is nothing for me to panic about. We can sort [the problems] out, this team can sort this out."
The Dutchman also insists he is concerned by the latest speculation surrounding his future at Old Trafford, where he has ended both his previous campaigns with silverware.
"I'm not thinking about it, I'm not anxious," he added. "We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership.
"We made this agreement, and we were all behind it. We know the strategy [is to bring in] young players in a transition period.
"They also know in May in all my last six seasons, there were always trophies, and that is what we are aiming for."
Szczesny reverses retirement to join Barcelona
Barcelona have signed Wojciech Szczesny as a free agent, with the goalkeeper reversing his decision to retire after the Blaugrana lost Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a long-term injury.
Germany international Ter Stegen underwent surgery after suffering a rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee last weekend and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Inaki Pena was initially expected to cover for Ter Stegen, but Barca have now reinforced their squad with the signing of former Arsenal man Szczesny.
Szczesny had announced his retirement from football last month after terminating his contract with Juventus, where he had been a regular after replacing Italy great Gianluigi Buffon between the sticks.
Szczesny won Serie A and the Coppa Italia three times each with Juve, making more than 250 appearances for the club, but he then lost his place to close-season recruit Michele Di Gregorio.
Barcelona are top of LaLiga with 21 points from eight games and Hansi Flick's side next visit Alaves on Sunday, looking to bounce back from last week's defeat at Osasuna.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
