A little over four years have passed, but the wound still stings. The 2-8 defeat that Bayern Munich inflicted on Barcelona in the 2020 Champions League quarterfinals remains one of the darkest anniversaries in the 125-year history of the Blaugrana. That result caused a sporting and institutional earthquake of which all the embers have not yet been extinguished. That day, among other things, Leo Messi began to suspect he was leaving. A before and after in the club.
Hansi Flick was the coach of that Bayern that would later end up lifting the Champions League in Lisbon. The German, today installed on the Barcelona bench, receives his former team in Montjuic (9:00 p.m., Movistar+) without hiding that it will be a special moment. «I played there and coached it, it is an excellent club and I have many acquaintances and relationships with players and managers. I had a great time there and great memories,” he acknowledged in the preview. «But Barcelona is a new chapter in my life and I am delighted. “I notice the passion of the fans and how they support us.”
Barça’s record against Bayern was not particularly good before that 2-8, but after that debacle the culés have become shaken every time they have crossed paths with the Bavarians: There are already four defeats in as many confrontations , with eleven goals against and none in favor.
«The past is not worth it, the here and now is worth it. We want to be well prepared, give our best and win, of course,” said Flick.
Barça and Bayern come to the duel tied in the League Phase standings after both losing one game and scoring a goal in the other. The blaugranas fell in their debut against Monaco (2-1) to later beat the Swiss Young Boys (5-0). Bayern’s path is the opposite. From crushing Dinamo Zagreb on the first day (9-2), to succumbing to Aston Villa on the second (1-0).
The German team, now led by the Belgian Vincent Kompany, Pep Guardiola’s outstanding student at Manchester City, has regained the dominance lost last year in the Bundesliga, where it now leads after the first seven days, without having yet known defeat . Harry Kane – 13 goals in 10 games in these first three months of competition – is the leader of a team that also relies on other players in good shape, such as Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, doubtful for this match, and Serge Gnabry, although Its backbone continues to be made up of three veterans, men of the house, such as Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller.
In Barcelona, where everything is smiles after another scoring feast against Sevilla, Bayern’s visit is seen as a litmus test to test the real level of a squad that is going from strength to strength by recovering several members in recent weeks, including them Gavi and De Jong. A victory would also give morale before the visit to the Bernabéu next Saturday to face Real Madrid in the first classic of the season.
#Flicks #double #game #Barça #passes #cotton #test #black #beast
