BarcelonaWhile Barça’s visit to Bayern has been marked in red on the calendar for a few days, Munich are facing the game “calmly”. In fact, as the German-based Catalan journalist Isaac Lluch recalls, until this Tuesday, the day before the clash between Bavarians and Catalans, Julian Nagelsmann had not been asked about this duel. The German team is still in the party with the calm of those who “already have their homework done”, as Lluch claims, but warns that this will not mean seeing a relaxed Bayern.“I don’t think he’s going to speculate or change his nature for this game. Not because they have anything against Barça, but because in every game they want to prove that they are Bayern. They are very consistent and ambitious to the point, even “I remember, for example, how in the last days of the last Bundesliga, despite already having the title in the basket, they won 6-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, who were struggling to enter European competition places.” , explains the journalist, although it does open the door for any less common footballer to enter the eleven, as could be the case of the Catalan Marc Roca. Xavi’s Barça will play against this machine to compete this Wednesday (9pm, Movistar Champions League) to qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League. Barça need to equalize or make a better result than Benfica, who receive a Dynamo from Kiev with no options at all in Lisbon.
The abysmal difference in the contemporary trajectory between Germans and Catalans suggests that Barça will need almost a miracle. “If Barça want to have a chance of winning in Munich, they will have to be bold, brave and have the ball. basically because the defenders, especially the central and lateral Alphonso Davies, do not have the mechanisms or are used to defending very close to their area and, in this sense, it is much more “It’s easy for them to lose concentration. A fact that can benefit the forwards of the opposing team,” said Marc Mayola, a journalist and international football analyst, especially from the Bundesliga and the Bavarian team. “Bayern, for example, are a team that concedes a lot of goals from center-backs. But I insist: courage, determination and having the ball, then you will also have to be very attentive to Bayern’s Calvary for Barça “, adds Mayola.
Like Lluch, Mayola does not think that the Bavarian team will leave the game with less energy than usual due to the fact that they already have the first place in the basket, but he does point out that Bayern may not be able to maintain its very high pace throughout the match. characteristic: “This has nothing to do with the fact that he is either first or a competitive issue – Bayern is a record breaker and wants to remain so – but with the current context of the team: they come from a match Saturday against Dortmund played at a hellish pace, and to this must be added all the problems related to the pandemic: the players who have had to quarantine, the last positives … Bayern is not in a full time and that could make them not have a voracious rhythm throughout the match “.
The two journalists consulted also agree that in no case will the fact that the match is played behind closed doors be decisive. “The sextet was achieved in the year of the pandemic. Neuer, for example, explained that, without fans in the stands, they were motivated as a group: the German goalkeeper acquired the gesture of celebrating important interventions by raising and closing the fist, to symbolize strength from the collective, “says Mayola. “It’s clear that everyone likes to watch this kind of match, but I think people are taking on the country’s pandemic situation, and especially in Bavaria, which is one of the countries along with Saxony where the worst numbers are. infection. People accept that it has to be played behind closed doors, “added Lluch, addressing the prism of local spectators.
Xavi takes the pressure
For Xavi Hernández, the absence of the public will not be a determining factor either, nor for Gerard Piqué, who has made clear the rival they will face: “Knowing the Germans and Bayern, it doesn’t matter if there is or not “At the stadium or if they’re already qualified. They’re going to compete. We’re in for a treat. that our game is recognizable. ” Barça have been working in Munich since Tuesday with the notable absences of Ansu Fati – who has not yet recovered from his injury and whom Xavi, under the advice of Dr. Ricard Pruna, has decided not to force – and Ez Abde. In the case of the end of the branch, if he cannot play it is due to a bureaucratic issue, as Barça cannot register him in the B list of the competition because UEFA regulations require at least a seniority of two seasons at the club. His place is taken by Ilias, who, on the other hand, Barça have been able to sign. In fact, he did so before playing against Benfica, as reported by ARA, although at the time he was unable to play because he was facing a penalty with the youth team in the Youth League.
However, Xavi will be in charge of his top eleven – with Dembélé as the starter and Gavi already recovered – and he hopes that his players will be up to the task in Munich. “For me, Bayern are one of the best teams in the world. History says we have never won in Munich, but history is also there to break it. We are very excited to compete and try to win the game with “I tell the players that the pressure is on me, not on them,” said the coach. group stage and especially the 2-8 in Lisbon. “Why not think about the first victory at home to Bayern?”, Asks Xavi.
