Hansi Flick has rapidly moulded a ragged Barcelona into a potent threat to Europe’s elite and the visit of his former Bayern Munich side in the Champions League on Wednesday is their first acid test.  The Catalans have not reached the semi-finals of the competition since 2019 and were humiliatingly thrashed 8-2 by the German giants in 2020, when Flick was at the helm in Bavaria. 

Five-time Champions League winners Barcelona lifted the trophy most recently in 2015 and failing to thrive on the road to this season’s Munich final would mark a decade in the doldrums since.