Raphinha struck twice in the second half to lead Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League victory over Aston Villa at Camp Nou on Tuesday, ending the English club's perfect start to the competition.
Five-time winners Barcelona went in front in the seventh minute when Lamine Yamal punished a misplaced pass from Joao Gomes inside his own penalty area, the 19-year-old winger calmly finishing past Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki. The Spanish champions pressed their visitors high up the pitch from the opening minutes in pouring rain.
Villa captain John McGinn, whose only previous visit to Camp Nou came as an eight-year-old on a summer holiday, saw his side respond well to the early setback. Matty Cash had a fierce drive deflected narrowly wide, Joao Cancelo blocked an effort from Gomes, and Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia raced off his line to beat Nicolas Jackson to a dangerous through-ball. At the other end, Suzuki saved from Anthony Gordon as Villa struggled to play out from the back under pressure, while Garcia was called into action again by Johan Manzambi in an end-to-end first half.
Villa manager Unai Emery, who suffered one of the worst nights of his career at Camp Nou in 2017 when his Paris Saint-Germain side lost 6-1, watched his team compete well before the break, but they were eventually undone by Barcelona's greater quality in the final third.
The hosts doubled their lead early in the second half when Fermin Lopez played in Raphinha, who showed quick footwork before finding the bottom corner. Cancelo then powered a strike narrowly over before setting up the third goal with a superb cross delivered with the outside of his boot, which Raphinha converted from close range.
The goal was the Brazil winger's 19th of the season across all competitions, underlining how he has made the number nine position his own this campaign. Yamal sent a shot skidding wide as Barcelona pushed for a fourth that never came, but the Catalan giants still recorded their first Champions League clean sheet in 19 matches and bounced back from their defeat to holders PSG in their previous European outing to stay in the hunt for a top-eight league phase berth.
The Champions League anthem was not played before kickoff as a mark of respect for Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel, who died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning following an on-pitch collision in a Spanish second-division match the previous day, a tragedy that provoked shock across the football world.
"I want to dedicate this win to the fans, but today I don't want to talk about football, I want to send a message to the family of Jesus, may he rest in peace," Raphinha told Movistar. "This can happen to anyone; it's very tough. From the club, I want to send a message of strength to the family."
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Bayern Munich and PSG underlined their title credentials with wins over Atletico Madrid and Villarreal respectively. Second-half goals from Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer broke down a stubborn Atletico side in Madrid, while PSG set a record as the fastest team to score four goals in a Champions League match on their way to a 6-0 victory. At Old Trafford, Matheus Cunha struck twice in quick succession after the break as Manchester United overturned a two-goal deficit to beat AS Roma 3-2, a comeback that followed protests by home supporters.
