Xavi Hernández’s Barcelona debuts this Tuesday in the Champions League against the Belgian Royal Antwerp, better known as Antwerp, with a simple challenge: to reach the round of 16, a fact that it has not achieved in the last two seasons. In the last two campaigns, the Blaugrana were third and ended up playing in the Europa League.
However, the sensations are different. It is the season of Xavi Hernández, who has established himself on the culé bench. The group’s feelings at the beginning of the season are also good, as was confirmed in the league win against Betis (5-0).
Despite the minimal investment, with an investment of only 3.4 million, the Blaugrana have put together a team of guarantees, built on the basis of players who were ending their contract and others, such as Joao Félix and Joao Cancelo, who arrived on loan and in need of vindicate. To all of them, we must add an emerging star like Lamine Yamal.
The European dance will begin against Antwerp, trained with an old acquaintance of Barcelona fans, the Dutchman Mark van Bommel, and with another ex-Azulgrana (Marc Overmars), as technical director.
It will be the first European confrontation between both teams and the debut of Montjuïc as the venue for a Champions League match. Until now, Barcelona has only played once in the Olympic Mountain stadium, it was in the 1996-97 season and due to the poor condition of the Camp Nou grass.
The Champions League match between Barcelona and Antwerp, corresponding to the first day of Group H, will be played this Tuesday, September 19, at 9:00 p.m. at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc. The meeting can be seen on television on Movistar and can also be followed live through the La Vanguardia website.
