With a performance that was reminiscent of their most successful European campaigns, Barcelona restored their Champions League supremacy on Tuesday night. And in the center of everything? Messi is being replaced with a Brazilian winger.

In the first leg of their quarterfinal matchup against Borussia Dortmund, Raphinha ignited the Estadi Olímpic with two goals and two assists, helping the team thrash them 4–0. In addition to captivating the supporters with his incredible performance, he tied Lionel Messi's record of 19 goal involvements in a single Champions League season, which he accomplished in the 2011–12 campaign.

This was a group masterpiece rather than just an individual exhibit. Lamine Yamal scored a fourth goal, Robert Lewandowski scored two, and the attacking trio had a synergy that reminded fans of MSN's heyday. Actually, since Messi and Neymar achieved double digits in a Champions League season in 2014–15—a campaign that concluded with a treble—Raphinha and Lewandowski were the first Barça combo to accomplish so.

Barcelona started the game with a bang. Lewandowski and Yamal both had early chances, but Raphinha broke the tie in the 25th minute with a cool, close-range finish after remaining just onside.

Dortmund had opportunities; Adeyemi and Guirassy were near, but they would be lost. With all three strikers contributing to the smooth build-up, Raphinha, who is always at the center of the action, gave Lewandowski two superb assists in the second half, the second of which was a characteristic Barça move.

With a slick conversion of another Raphinha assist, Lamine Yamal completed a brilliant performance and virtually sealed the tie before halftime in the second leg. His calm finish felt like the last nail in the coffin, leaving Dortmund with little chance of a comeback.

Ronald Araújo, meantime, expressed his presence in his own way from the bench by flinging himself in front of two late Dortmund attempts and blocking them with the kind of dedication that typified Barcelona's determination that evening. Dortmund's agonizing evening of wasted chances and mounting annoyance came to an end when Maximilian Beier's shot was swiftly rejected for offside, giving him a fleeting sense of hope.

Unless Dortmund pulls off an unexpected miracle, Barcelona's trip to the semifinals appears all but guaranteed with the return leg at Signal Iduna Park scheduled for next Tuesday. Now, the Catalan powerhouses are about to make their first semifinal appearance since 2019. It's difficult to deny that anything is possible for this revitalized Barcelona team again when Raphinha is playing at his current level.

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