"Learned all that at Elland Road" - BBC commentator drops Leeds United, Raphinha claim after Barca exploits | OneFootball

Match of the Day commentator Guy Mowbray referred to Raphinha's Leeds United spell as the Barcelona man struck a Champions League hat-trick

Match of the Day commentator Guy Mowbray referred to Raphinha's Leeds United days on the BBC's Champions League highlights programme on Wednesday night, as the Barcelona captain hit a hat-trick during Barça's 4-1 demolition of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

The hotly debated new Champions League format has played witness to some box office clashes in the competition's inaugural league phase, and former Leeds man Raphinha was the star of the show as two of Europe's behemoths locked horns in Barcelona on Wednesday.

It took the Brazilian just one minute to get himself on the scoresheet, and establish a 1-0 lead for his side, before England ace Harry Kane equalised for Munich on 18 minutes.

The evergreen Robert Lewandowski reinstalled Barça's lead after 36 minutes, before the ex-Whites star was on hand to bag his second of the game on the stroke of half-time and put daylight between the two sides, as the La Liga outfit held a 3-1 lead.

Then, four minutes shy of the hour mark, the unstoppable Raphinha beat Germany legend Manuel Neuer for a third time to secure a sensational hat-trick.

Match of the Day make Leeds reference following Raphinha hat-trick

After witnessing the 27-year-old's hat-trick goal, Match of the Day's Mowbray said on the Champions League highlights show: "They tell me he learned all that at Elland Road" as he paid tribute to the two Premier League seasons Raphinha spent with the West Yorkshire outfit following his move from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in 2020.

The Whites faithful will be proud that their club got a mention during a Champions League clash between two of Europe's most successful clubs, while the Brazilian was quick to make a positive impression during his Leeds days, and scored six goals as well as producing nine assists during the 2020/21 season, which helped his former club to an impressive ninth place finish in the Premier League.

He then made an arguably more impressive return of 11 goals and three assists during the 2021/22 top-flight campaign, despite the fact that the West Yorkshire side avoided relegation to the Championship by just three points, and earned his big move to Barça.

The effects of the winger's exit were felt by all at Elland Road in the worst way possible, as the Whites were relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2022/23 season, and have not made their Premier League return since.

Meanwhile, Raphinha is reaping the rewards of his eye-catching transfer, and it would not be far-fetched to say that he is one of the best widemen in world football at this moment in time, as he has scored nine goals and created six assists in just 13 appearances across all competitions so far this term.

Raphinha hat-trick would have made Leeds fans proud

The Elland Road faithful will have been brimming with pride at the sight of seeing one of their side's former star players captain Barça, and score a hat-trick against fellow European giants Bayern in the Champions League.

Furthermore, the manner in which he scored his hat-trick is all the more impressive as he scored his first goal inside one minute by rounding Neuer.

Then, for his second, the ex-Whites man exquisitely controlled Marc Casado's cross-field ball, before curling the ball into the bottom corner past a helpless Neuer.

His hat-trick goal was arguably his finest strike of the evening, as he brought down Lamine Yamal's pass, and held off both centre-backs Min-Jae Kim and Dayot Upamecano before arrowing home an unstoppable effort.

Leeds supporters will have watched on in awe, and will have been thrilled to hear their club credited by Match of the Day's Mowbray for their role in Raphinha's development.