Raphinha responded to his surprising absence from this year's Ballon d'Or shortlist in emphatic fashion, scoring twice as Barcelona overwhelmed Feyenoord 5-1 in a rain-soaked Champions League clash at Camp Nou.
The Brazilian winger, left out of the 30-man list of contenders for football's most prestigious individual award earlier in the week, wasted no time making a statement. He opened the scoring in just the third minute with a clinical finish and doubled his tally shortly before the hour mark, extending his remarkable scoring form to eight goals in six matches this season.
Barcelona were utterly dominant throughout, with the goals flowing from all areas of the pitch. Summer arrival Karim Adeyemi produced a spectacular strike of his own, while teenage sensation Lamine Yamal showed his quality by curling a free-kick through a gap in the Feyenoord wall. Substitute Gabriel Jesus, another recent signing, needed just two minutes after coming off the bench to get off the mark for his new club.
The rout capped a miserable evening for Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who returned to the stadium where he once played as a coach facing his former rivals. There was a small consolation for the travelling Feyenoord supporters late in the game when Sem Steijn poked home at the far post to get his side on the scoresheet.
Speaking after the match, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick praised his side's collective performance rather than singling out individual brilliance. "The most important thing is we are playing like a team, like one unit," Flick said. "We controlled the game, we are dominant and this is fantastic to see. This is our style and how we want to play."
The result continues Barcelona's blistering start to the Champions League campaign and further cements Raphinha's status as one of the form players in Europe this season, even without recognition on the Ballon d'Or list.
Elsewhere in Wednesday's Champions League action, Paris Saint-Germain made a statement of intent in their bid for a third consecutive title, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 at the Parc des Princes. Ousmane Dembélé, last year's Ballon d'Or winner, scored twice inside the first half before setting up Ferran Torres, the close-season signing from Barcelona, to make it 3-0 by half-time. Torres added two further goals after the break to complete his hat-trick, with Suleiman Camara grabbing a consolation for the Slovakian champions before Fabián Ruiz rounded off the scoring for PSG.
In Germany, Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic scored a first-half hat-trick inside just 12 minutes to secure a 3-1 win over Champions League newcomers Viking Stavanger. Demirovic opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Viking levelled through Zlatko Tripic, only for the Bosnian striker to restore Stuttgart's lead and then complete his treble with a hooked volley before the half-hour mark. "For me personally it was the perfect start and also for the team as a whole," Demirovic said afterward.
Sporting Lisbon also impressed, coming from behind to beat Galatasaray 3-1. An own goal from Gonçalo Inacio gave the Turkish visitors an early lead, but Geny Catamo equalised before the break. Luis Suárez converted a penalty in the second half to put Sporting ahead, and Rodrigo Zalazar sealed the victory with a superb free-kick.
Based on reporting from The Guardian and BBC Sport.