Barcelona forward Raphinha said on Tuesday he was delighted with his team's character and performance in a 5-0 Champions League win over Swiss side Young Boys following tough losses at Monaco and Osasuna.
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.
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."
✨ RAPHINHA ✨
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 1, 2024
PLAYER OF THE MATCH! pic.twitter.com/qQTvxFe8SS
Barca manager Hansi Flick agreed with his Brazilian player regarding the importance of the goal difference in the new format but, despite heaping praise on his team, he believes there is still a lot of room for improvement.
"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."
Barcelona travel to Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga on Sunday and meet Sevilla after the international break before hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League on October 23 and visiting Madrid for the Clasico against bitter rivals Real three days later.
Hat-trick v Real Valladolid, two goals v Villarreal and now a goal and assist in must win Champions League game for Barcelona.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 1, 2024
There might not be a better Brazilian talent in Europe than Raphinha right now 😮💨🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/kEbRdEXyHD