Is This Barcelona's Year to Become Champions of Europe Once Again?
Barcelona remains firm in the La Liga title race after a 4-1 win against Sevilla. Robert Lewandowski scored the first goal in the seventh minute, but a quick reply from Sevilla's Ruben Vargas a minute later would have the game 1-1 entering halftime. Fermin López, who came off the bench in place of Gavi, scored Barcelona’s go-ahead goal. A Raphinha goal in the 55th minute would have Barcelona go ahead 3-1 and gain a comfortable lead. Despite López being sent off in the 62nd minute due to a questionable tackle, it would be quite easy for the 10-man Barcelona side. Even Eric García, who came off the bench, would find himself on the score sheet, scoring Barcelona’s fourth late in the game. Barcelona is now sitting in third place, only behind leaders Atlético Madrid and second place Real Madrid by two and one points, respectively. La Liga is always within reach for the club, but there’s one competition that has haunted Barcelona since their last trophy over 10 years ago.
10 Years of Struggle
Barcelona last won the UEFA Champions League in the 2014-2015 season, led by one of, if not the greatest attacking trios of all time, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar. However, since that Champions League win, Barcelona has only been able to reach the semifinals of the competition once. Atlético Madrid was the first team to shut down the MSN trio after beating them in the quarterfinals the following year. In 2017, Barcelona would have their historic “La Remontada” against PSG in the Round of 16. This comeback would bring hope back to the Barcelona fans as they believed after a performance like that they were destined to win the Champions League. However, losing to Juventus, led by Paulo Dybala, in the quarterfinals once again was their fate. In 2018 and 2019, two historic collapses occurred for Barcelona. The first one came against Roma, where Barcelona would blow a 4-1 aggregate lead in the second leg in Rome. Kostas Manolas's goal in the 82nd minute would be the decisive goal, as they would lose 4-4 on aggregate due to away goals. The second collapse came in 2019 and would be Barcelona's most infamous collapse. Messi was a master in the first leg, which gave Barca a 3-0 lead heading into Anfield, but it was not enough. Liverpool would complete one of the most famous comebacks in the competition's history, winning 4-0 in the second leg. Not only did Barcelona have historic collapses, but embarrassing losses also occurred. Most notably the 2020 campaign, where they would be demoralized by Bayern Munich in an 8-2 loss in another quarterfinal. In the next two seasons, in 2021 and 2022, Barcelona would fail to qualify for the knockout stages, getting grouped twice and sent to the Europa League in the process. Barca's most recent attempt at winning the Champions League came this past season, where they would fall short to PSG in the quarterfinals once again. After winning 3-2 in the first leg and scoring an early goal in the second leg, Barcelona would suffer a red card, which would change the dynamic of the game, where they would eventually lose 4-1 and be officially knocked out.
Newfound Hope
This season Barcelona fans are starting to believe that they can win the Champions League and rightfully so. With the new Champions League Group Phase, Barcelona finished in second place only behind Liverpool, being granted an automatic bid to the Round of 16 in the process. In this season's Champions League, Barcelona has scored the most goals, scoring an astounding 28 in only eight games. Led by new manager Hansi Flick, Barcelona has looked revolutionized, becoming the best-attacking team in Europe. Players like Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have become Ballon d'Or contenders under Flick. A stout midfield rotation of Pedri, Marc Casado, and Frenkie de Jong has been huge for the club, along with defenders like Jules Koundé and Pau Cubarsí. For Barcelona, this is their best team in years, having a well-rounded side filled with star players. With the way their path is set up to the final and with their current form, the Blaugrana could possibly finally see themselves regain the European throne that was once familiar to them.
