On Wednesday, Hansi Flick and Bayern Munich will meet again in the 3rd round of the Champions League in Barcelona.
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- FC Barcelona welcomes FC Bayern Munich.
- The last five games have all gone to Bayern. The goal difference: 19:2.
- Barça coach Frick wants to change this record. The past doesn't matter. The present is what counts. "Of course we want to beat Bayern."
In recent seasons, nothing has reflected FC Barcelona's loss of importance in the Champions League as clearly as the duels with Bayern Munich. The five matches between the two teams in the last four years or so have all gone to the Germans - with a goal difference of 19:2.
This record, which is unworthy of the Catalans, began in August 2020, in the middle of the coronavirus crisis, with an 8-2 defeat in the quarter-finals of the final tournament. Bayern's coach at the time, Hansi Flick, is now Barcelona's hopeful.
With good results in recent weeks, the 59-year-old from Heidelberg has helped the 27-time Spanish champions feel comfortable in their own skin again and go into the top-class European duels with a broader chest.
Flick: "What counts is the present"
Barça have scored at least four goals in six of their nine games since the end of August, including a 5-0 win over Young Boys three weeks ago. Flick understandably emphasized the recent past and played down the importance of the direct duels against Bayern: "The past doesn't matter, what counts is the present. We can only influence what comes next. Of course we want to beat Bayern."
In addition to the coaching duel between Flick and Bayern's Vincent Kompany, two other comparisons stand out on Wednesday evening at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium: those between goal scorers Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane and dribble artists Lamine Yamal and Jamal Musiala.
Xhaka against Fernandes
Bayer Leverkusen are already in action earlier on Wednesday evening (6.45pm). The team led by Granit Xhaka will face Brest in Brittany in an astonishing top-of-the-table clash. Like the German champions, the French side with Switzerland's Edimilson Fernandes have started the league phase with two wins.
SDA
