Papers: Barcelona’s thrilling return to Champions League action | OneFootball

On the day of the most crucial game of Barcelona’s season already, the Spanish media is understandably generating a lot of buzz about the clash against the mighty Germans, Bayern Munich.

The previous encounter between the two sides is impossible to forget, not just by the fans of either club, but also any fans of the sport in general. The 8-2 humiliation Barcelona faced in Lisbon was historic for a lot of reasons.

It triggered a chain of massive events ranging from Lionel Messi wanting to leave to a mass offloading of certain players in the squad, to an eventual vote of no confidence against the previous Barcelona board of directors led by Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Now, as pointed out by SPORT, a titanic rematch is on the horizon, this time with fans back inside the Camp Nou for a Champions League game for the first time since November of 2019.

It is the perfect way to get their European campaign for the season underway, and it will be a massive tactical battle between the two managers Julian Nagelsmann and Ronald Koeman, say Mundo Deportivo.

There are a number of key absentees for both squads, with Barcelona particularly starved in attack and Sergino Dest absent in defense. Bayern will be missing midfielder Corentin Tolisso and winger Serge Gnabry.

However, the Bavarians have been bolstered by the return of Robert Lewandowski. Barcelona will have Philippe Coutinho back in the squad after a lengthy injury layoff. After his loan stint with the Germans, he will now aim to win the Champions League again with Barcelona.

The opener will be a phenomenal way to kick off the 2021-22 CL campaign.