In the semi-finals of the Champions League, the footballers from FC Bayern Munich will meet FC Barcelona, currently the best team in Europe. In the preliminary round, Bayern lost to Barca.
The newly crowned German champions from FC Bayern still have a lot to do to achieve their goal of winning the treble. The first leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League is on Saturday: FC Barcelona will face the currently best team in Europe.
For returnee Klara Bühl, the joy of winning the championship helps especially on an emotional level: “It was an incredibly nice feeling to know after the final whistle: We have won the title that reflects the most consistency,” she said before the Champions League clash. Even though there wasn’t much time to celebrate, the Munich women “of course took this feeling with them.”
Klara Bühl: “A game of the highest class”
With regard to the duel with Barcelona in the large stadium, the German international says: “It’s one of the biggest games we can play here. A game of the highest class.” They want to inspire the fans with a good football performance “so that they can then support us again.”
The Bayern women are dependent on the support of the fans on Saturday, because their opponents have also won the domestic championship and are currently the ultimate in European women’s football. “We have to play a completely different game than we are used to,” says FCB coach José Barcala.
German champions meet Spanish champions
The playing styles of the two championship teams are similar in many ways. Both play very dominantly, relying on possession of the ball and a certain level of aggressiveness on offense. The Munich team must assume that Barcelona will take control of the game and force the hosts to defend for longer periods.
“So we have to learn to suffer together, to run together, to be very well coordinated and compact, to press at the right moments and, once we have won the ball, to find the space to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses.” In the transition moments, Barcala relies primarily on the speed of its offensive with players like Bühl, Pernille Harder and Edna Imade.
“Faster and more toxic”: The lessons from the 1:7 defeat
The Spaniard has a clear match plan and from the 1:7 defeat against Barcelona in the group stage in October Experiences gained. “We are no longer the same team as we were in October,” says FCB coach José Barcala, emphasizing his team’s development over the season.
The players around Bühl also learned their lessons from the defeat: “Be quicker in your head, be more toxic in duels, be there from the start and then use the space the opponent gives us.”
Starting difficulties eliminate
The first few minutes after kick-off in particular will be crucial to how the game goes. Starting difficulties in the opening minutes of games in the home arena have almost become a habit for the Bayern women. For coach Barcala, this is only partly due to nervousness. “Sometimes it takes time to understand the game, read the opponent’s patterns, find the spaces and how we can break the press. This can be dangerous if we don’t get the overview quickly.”
The Munich team cannot afford a somewhat sleepy first half like in the second leg against Manchester United against Barcelona. But the coach has done his homework: “We have a clear picture of what will happen in the game and we are well prepared to be there from the first minute.”
Bühl: “We believe we can do it”
But apart from tactics and willingness to run, self-confidence is the cornerstone to defeat FC Barcelona in the semi-finals. And Klara Bühl and FC Bayern are definitely not lacking in that, especially after winning the German championship. “We believe in ourselves, we want to make it to the final.”
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Source: BR24 TV April 24, 2026 – 4:30 p.m
