Barcelona vs Bayern Munich summary: score, stats, goals & highlights | UEFA Champions League 24/25
Barcelona vs Bayern: as it happened
Barcelona 4-1 Bayern
It's a long walk from the back of the goal to the fans in the stands at either short end of the Estadi Lluis Companys. But for the Barcelona squad at the end of the game, it simply gave them more time to build up the noise of the olés before joining in with the party.
A simply stunning performance in what was billed as the toughest game of the season so far, coming in a tournament that had seen them slip up once - not like in the league - leads us to ask the question: are Barcelona good now?
It turns out they might just be. A goal from Raphinha after 60 seconds wascancelled out by Kane on two occasions, one of them offside and ruled out, but from then the historically wobbly snooker table was tipped wholly in the direction of the Germans as they swallowed shot after shot, counter after counter and goal after goal.
Raphinha found the corner pockets three times and will take the headlines, the MVP award and all the front pages tomorrow morning, but from 1 to 11 this was Barça at their best, and their most dominant in Europe perhaps since Messi's free-kick against Liverpool.
They don't have Messi anymore but they have Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Fermín and around 100 more youngsters to get the fans off their seats, and tonight proved that the future might just be bright.
Their near future? Well, that's a game against Real Madrid at the weekend.
That's all, folks!
Thanks for following the coverage of the crazy game in Barcelona.
Be sure to check out AS USA for all the Clásico buildup ahead of the game at the weekend!
Joe
Lamine Yamal post-game:
It's a great game, they have great players, as do we, and we want to win
Rapha MVP
The former Leeds winger had what might be his best performance in a Barcelona shirt, and is certainly taking the captain's armband with a lot of personality.
Lamine Yamal working wonders...
The youngster was instrumental in Barça's dismantling of Bayern and had the fans on their feet more than once.
FULL-TIME!
A simply sensational performance by Barcelona; from front to back they were perfect.
Into the final 60 seconds of what has been a perfect performance from Hansi Flick's side.
A long ball from Sané on the right is aimed towards Coman, but it's way off target and Iñaki Peña won't rush the goal kick.
3 added minutes.
And the Bayern midfielder has been booked for the challenge, which ended up being a clash of knees. Ouch.
Cubarsí plays the ball out to stop the play after Casadó went down under a challenge from Goretzka.
Bayern are pushing for what would be a consolation goal in these circumstances.
Bayern sub:
ON: Laimer
OFF: Guerreiro
Triple change for Barça:
OFF: Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, Pedri
ON: Gavi, Ansu, Pau
Musiala gets his radar all fuzzled and plays a through ball to Harry Kane who must be 3 metres offside. A bad night all round for the subs who have been unable to stop the charge from Barça.
HUGE CHANCE! Lamine Yamal twists, turns and squirms one way and the other before clipping a near-perfect cross for Lewandowski to tap in. However, the forward misses the ball and it flashes wide of Neuer's goal from a yard out.
Pedri sends Koundé away and the flag doesn't get raised... but the referee judges his challenge on Davies to be a foul. Barcelona want more.
We're into the final ten minutes of normal time.
Olmo plays Lewandowski through into acres of space behind the defence but this time Kim Min-jae is up for the challenge and gets a foot in on the forward.
A sensational move ends in a scuffed half-chance for Barça as Lamine Yamal puts his long-range shot well wide. Another cut-throat counter from the Catalans.
Olmo has taken up Raphinha's position on the left of the Barça attack.
Huge applause for the Brazilian
OFF: Raphinha
ON: Olmo
It's cleared away by Iñaki Peña, who may as well join in on the fun and give it the full René Higuita the next time it comes his way.
Bayern win a corner following a nice burst of pace from Davies against Koundé.
Dani Olmo is about to join the party.
It's Barça with the ball, putting it through the legs of their opponents on demand. Bayern can't breathe and see further than 2 metres in front of them, let alone try to find the ball and then do anything with it. This isn't an even football match, it's almost unfair.
Is this Barcelona's best performance in the Champions League since *that* first leg against Liverpool? Let me know if you can think of a more recent one.
Everyone's getting involved in the fun! Koundé takes the ball and flicks it over the head of Davies. The Barcelona crowd can't do anything else other than laugh.
I know you know, dear reader, but Pedri and Lamine Yamal are simply superb. Amazing talents on the pitch against older, stronger and more experienced opponents. But none of that matters as they have more talent than anyone else.
The crowd are on their feet and the olés are out.
WIDE. Musiala skips inside and opens the play to Coman on the left. The winger jinks in on his right foot and whips a shot wide of the far post.
Bayern are, as you might expect, pushing Barcelona back into their own defensive third. As of yet, there's been no breakthrough and the home side are standing firm.
HUGE CHANCE. Balde is sent sprinting down the left by Raphinha and by the time he makes it into the box, shooting is the best option. He draws his leg back as Upamecano slides in to push the ball behind.
Barça sub:
OFF: Fermín
ON: De Jong
Bayern have a corner kick.
Defended superbly well by Barcelona.
Kompany makes FOUR changes:
OFF: Muller, Olise, Gnabry, Palhinha
ON: Goretzka, Coman, Musiala, Sané
Changes for Bayern coming up...
Back underway. Bayern stunned.
THE PERFECT COUNTER ATTACK: Bayern lose the ball and Pedri opens up towards Lamine Yamal on the right, who is in his own half. The winger sends the ball the other way, over the defence where Raphinha takes it down and bursts away from Kim Min-jae.
He drives a low effort towards the far post that curls away from Neuer's outstretched gloves and that's the hat-trick for the Brazilian!
SENSATIONAL
A long, slow move from Bayern edgesBarça back towards their own goal, but the ball never comes in towards goal from either side. The Germans eventually get their reward as Gnabry is brought down by Casadó close to the left touchline.
Gnabry gets down the left but the flag is up before he can get his cross in towards Kane.
Bayern's long spell of possession draws the boos from the home crowd.
OVER THE BAR. Kane opens to Olise who curls a shot towards goal from the right. It is blocked and lands with Palhinha, who lashes a shot over the bar from just inside the box.
It's loose possession from both sides in the opening minutes of the second half as neither side can get a foot on the ball. Barça come close and get into the Bayern box but the defending is solid.
Musiala is warming up for the away side.
Big cheers from the crowd as Barcelona come flying out of the blocks, lose the ball and press Bayern like 11 magnets.
No changes for either side.
Second half underway!
Barça get us rolling for the second 45 minutes.
Almost time for the second half
Bayern are back out on the pitch.
What a performance from Fermín
Raphinha will grab the headlines and rightly so, but Fermín's performance has been superb and credit to Flick for putting him in the XI today.
Who saw that one coming?
Barcelona scored in the first minute and were the worse team for most of the half and are 3-1 up at half-time without playing badly at all. How does that work?
Somehow, it does: Raphinha was put through after 59 seconds and tapped past Neuer to put his side ahead.
From then on, Bayern pushed and pushed, eventually drawing levelk through Kane, only to see it ruled out for the tightest of offsides. It didn't stop them, however, and the English forward quickly made up for things by sending a volley past Iñaki Peña and equalling things on the scoreboard.
The game evened out at that point and slowly but surely, Barça grew back into it, with longer spells of possession that would eventually bear fruit. Fermín found space in behind and square to Lewandowski to put his side ahead before a dancing Raphinha squirmed inside to send Barça 3-1 up and the fans into dreamland before the break.
It's panic stations for Bayern who need to work things out in the second half.
Half-time!
After a little bit of time wasting from the home side, the referee blows for half-time.
Raphinha, Raphinha sing the jubilant culé crowd.
2 added minutes.
The ball is switched long out to Raphinha on the left.
The former Leeds man takes it inside on his 'weaker' right foot and sends a perfect curling effort towards the far post that flies past Neuer and into the back of the net!
Kane plays Davies through the lines on the left and the Canadian sends a cross towards Gnabry. Cubarsí judges the ball perfectly and clears the danger.
The away side are rushing things and playing simple balls where they shouldn't go: right into the feet of the blue and red shirts. This is galvanising the crowd and keeping the tiring Barça legs going.
Less than five to go in the first half and Bayern have stepped things up, now they're forcing Barcelona back in this crazy game.
The Catalan side are, all of a sudden, pressing the Germans back who can't find a way out of their own defensive third.
Back underway...
Fermín receives the ball behind the Bayern defence after Kim Min-jae misses an easy header to defend a clipped ball over from Lamine Yamal.
His touch towards the left takes the bouncing ball away from Neuer and into the path of the striker, who smashes home from close range.
CHANCE! Kane picks out Guerreiro at the far post and clips a sensational pass over the head of Balde. The Portuguese defender makes a mess of his touch and allows Iñaki Peña time to get out and smother the ball.
And now the culé fans are raging as Lewandowski pushes Kimmich over. It's one of those that annoys you if it doesn't go your way but never feels strong enough for a foul when it's against you.
Upamecano heads away a cross from the left and Kane misses the ball on the edge of the box. Lewandowski makes contact with the forward who crashes to the ground.
The Barça fans aren't happy about Kane's apparent dive. They must never have seen him play before.
We're just past the half-hour mark and Bayern have become relatively quiet, with Barcelona's babies controlling things in the middle of the pitch for the time being.
Barcelona win a corner thanks to good work from Balde and his run down the left that is eventually sent behind by Kim Min-jae.
The game seems to have evened out over the last 5 to 10 minutes...
The first booking of the night goes to Kimmich for bringing down Fermín as he races through the lines.
CHANCE. Neuer almost gets in a pickle as Lamine Yamal charges him down and gets a toe on the ball that fizzes wide of goal.
CHANCE. Barça are getting in their groove and Raphinha plays to Lewandowski on the edge of the box. The Polish forward takes a touch, eyes up Neuer and whacks a long-range effort just wide.
Lamine Yamal gets caught up on the touchline, with both Palhinha and Gnabry surrounding him...
No problem! The small boy simply pops the ball through the legs of the winger and scampers away like Dennis the Menace after stealing a chocolate bar.
Barcelona get their first decent spell of possession that I can remember in this game so far.
A sensational move between Cubarsí, Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Fermín gets fans off their seats. It ends as the latter races through only to be tackled by Davies, who is three Pokemon evolutions bigger than him.
Back underway.
And this one will count!
Bayern have been superb since they conceded, to be fair. The ball is switched out to Gnabry on the left who sends in a delightful cross that is directed back across goal and into the corner of Iñaki Peña's net.
Sublime play from the Germans, who deserve a goal; Barça look shaky.
The firstgroans of the night from the fans come as Barça struggle to scramble away a low cross from Olise.
Pedri's arms are a-flailing as he's trying to organise some sort of way for them to hold onto the ball, which they haven't been able to do since kick-off.
Fifteen minutes gone and despite the scoreline, Bayern have been the much better side on the pitch. They've pinned Barcelona back and Flick's side have been unable to create anything apart from the chance put away by Raphinha.
Applause from the fans as the Barcelona defence leave an overhit pass from Davies to Iñaki Peña. The home side recover the ball and it's their turn to attack.
Here's the Kane offside...
That is what was between Bayern equalising and the goal being ruled out.
Back underway and Bayern come again...
OFFISDE!!!
GOAL RULED OUT
Barcelona were ahead but Bayern have had all the other chances: this time they've made it count.
Olise opens up to Guerreiro on the right who floats the ball over to Kane and the forward doesn't miss with the header that sails into the far corner.
Kane slips in behind Iñigo Martínez and is 1 vs 1 with the Barça goalkeeper, who races out to close the angles and avoid another touch from the Englishman which certainly would have seen him score!
HUGE SAVE FROM IÑAKI PEÑA
Bayern win a corner after Muller gets in behind Martínez and his cross is deflected out. Barcelona defend with ease...
A ncie spell of Bayern possession ends as Gnabry tries to play Davies down the line: Barcelona's press is asphyxiating and they recover the ball well.
Bayern are trying plenty of long passes over the Barcelona defence but so far, nobody is there in behind to collect the balls that are being swept up by defenders.
Back underway...
Bayern too go for a high line and Raphinha is played through by Lewandowski. The Brazilian takes the ball 30 yards down the pitch towards Neuer before skipping past the goalkeeper and finding the back of the net!
WHAT A START FOR BARCELONA
Wow, Barcelona's defensive line rushes to halfway and plants itself there, giving Bayern no space at all...
And we're off!
The away side get us going from right to left.
'The Chaaaampions' rings around the stadium
Around 2,800 Bayern fans are inside the ground and they too are making a fantastic noise.
Here come the players!
Barcelona have finally stepped out of the dressing room and the 22 players make their way onto the pitch!
In case you were wondering...
Manuel Neuer's goalkeeper kit is a sublime effort from Adidas: it's a dark green shirt with the trefoil logo replacing the modern three stripes. I know it's not at all relevant to proceedings on the pitch, but if you're not here for kit love when it comes around...
Almost time to go!
Bayern Munich are already in the tunnel, we're just waiting on the home side and the referees.
Here's how SofaScore see the lineups:
Let's see if the two teams come out as the boffins at SofaScore say they will. They're rarely wrong, to be fair, which is why they're allowed to wear long lab coats.
The atmosphere is building!
As much as it can in a stadium like this, the noise is bubbling away as the players head down the tunnel for the final team talks before kick-off.
Oh wait, there's more?
Oh yes, we've got THREE more games live on AS USA today, brought to you by our friends over at Opta Towers.
A reminder of the starting XIs:
Barcelona:
GK: Iñaki Peña
DEF: Koundé - Iñigo - Cubarsí - Balde
MID: Pedri - Casadó - Fermín
ATT: Lamine Yamal - Lewandowski - Raphinha
Bayern:
GK: Neuer
DEF: Guerreiro - Upamecano - Minjae - Davies
MID: Palhinha - Kimmich - Muller
ATT: Olise - Kane - Gnabry
CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF / EFE
Lamine Yamal vs Alphonso Davies
The young winger has shot into the spotlight with fantastic performances over the last year, and has turned into one of the world's top wingers. However, he's got a huge job ahead of him if he wants to get the better of Canadian full-back Alphonso Davies, who is certainly towards the top of the list when it comes to elite defenders in Europe.
The battle between the two will be one of the key areas to success tonight, and an area of the pitch to keep an eye on.
Warmups underway!
Both teams have taken to the pitch with their physical coaches as they get ready for kick-off, which is around half an hour away.
Barcelona's recent record against Bayern...
Trigger warning! Look away NOW, Barcelona fans.
The last 6 games the Catalans have played against Bayern have ended with 6 losses across which they have conceded 22 goals.
In fact, they have only ever beaten Bayern twice, scoring just 13 times in 13 matches. The Germans, on the other hand, have netted 33 goals against the blaugrana.
Ter Stegen pre-game to Spanish TV:
"I have good people around me and I'm trying to help out at home as well"
"It's a top game, everyone is looking at this game and they are two huge games, we hope we can get the result"
"I saw Gavi's return on TV, it was amazing, such a long road for him and a complicated journey. But he's done it well and he's still young, he's an idol for the fans and for myself"
Here's how the away dressing room looks
Bayern are wearing what Adidas call a "clean and classic" kit, adding that "this FC Bayern third jersey combines treasured elements from the club's DNA and adidas heritage".
Who are we to argue?
RONALD WITTEK / EFE
Who to watch: Harry Kane
Yes, I am being Mr. Obvious here, as Kane is hardly a young and unknown player to fans watching the game tonight. However, if you've not seen him this season and think his level has dropped off, think again.
The former Spurs man has bagged 13 goals in 10 games so far this season, as well as 6 assists across all competitions, proving he's still a threat at 31-years-old.
Bayern form guide:
21 Sept | Werder 0-5 Bayern | Bundesliga - WIN
28 Sept | Bayern 1-1 Leverkusen | Bundesliga - WIN
2 Oct | Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern | UCL - LOSS
6 Oct | Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 Bayern | Bundesliga - DRAW
19 Oct | Bayern 4-0 VfB Stuttgart | Bundesliga - WIN
Who to watch: Raphinha
The former Leeds United man has been arguably Barcelona's best player this season, and his form has been a key reason why they have performed so well in the league this season.
Nobody saw Raphinha playing at the level he's shown so far this season, with 6 goals and 8 assists in 12 propelling his team to the top of the league.
Bayern's will have a tough task on their hands keeping him contained on the wing, with a certain Lamine Yamal causing chaos on the other...
Barcelona form guide:
25 Sept | Barcelona 1-0 Getafe | LaLiga - WIN
28 Sept | Osasuna 4-2 Barcelona | LaLiga - LOSS
1 Oct | Barcelona 5-1 Young Boys | UCL - WIN
6 Oct | Alavés 0-3 Barcelona | LaLiga - WIN
20 Oct | Barcelona 5-1 Sevilla | LaLiga - WIN
Hansi Flick pre-game quotes:
We prepare every game the same way. Of course I was at Bayern as a player and a coach and was successful there. I have a lot of acquaintances there, players and management. It was a great time for me. I have nice memories.
But now I’m living a new chapter here at Barcelona. I’m very happy here. It’s a special [game], but it’s our obligation to give everything for the fans.
The past doesn’t matter. The present is what’s important. We can’t change what happened in the past. We’re focused on doing our best tomorrow. Of course we’ll try to beat Bayern.
Bayern are playing a very good season. Vincent Kompany and his staff are doing an excellent job. They’re pressing very high and are brave with and without the ball. It’s going to be a tough game. But we’ll try to do our best and we’re ready for tomorrow.
What else is going on today?
Here's the list of all the Champions League fixtures this evening...
BAYERN XI REVEALED:
Kompany goes full strength against Barça, as we thought. Kane leads the line with Olise and Gnabry either side.
BARÇA XI REVEALED:
It's as we expected from Flick, who goes with Fermín over Olmo in the middle of the pitch tonight.
How does the 'new' Champions League work?
As before, the knockout phase begins with the round of 16.
However, a new playoff round has been introduced between the league phase and the round of 16. The top eight teams from the league phase automatically advance to the round of 16, while those ranked 9th to 24th enter the playoff stage. Teams finishing 9th to 16th are seeded, and those ranked 17th to 24th are unseeded.
The eight playoff matchups will be two-legged ties, with the winners progressing to the round of 16.
The bottom eight teams in the league phase are eliminated. Unlike in the previous format, no teams drop down to the Europa League.
From the round of 16 onwards, the tournament follows the familiar format, with two-legged ties in the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, and a single final at a neutral venue, which for this season is Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Who saw this coming?
OK, not strictly related to tonight's game, I know, but UK outlets claim that the former FC Barcelona boss Xavi Hernández has been contacted by the Red Devils and is the current favourite to succeed Erik ten Hag, if/when the poor guy gets the boot from the club.
Reports claim that people who wear suits at Manchester United flew to Barcelona to hold talks with the Catalan but nothing has been confirmed at this time. Still, it makes for some fun speculation as to who's going to moan more: Xavi or Bruno Fernandes.
The Champions League is getting red hot at the moment and you won’t want to miss the game between Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Here's all the information you need about watching the game on your TV screen or streaming device, as well as following the AS USA live feed, of course.
Where are the teams in the league?
OK, I admit that it's early days in the season, but the table looks especially unpleasing for both sides in action this evening.
Both Barcelona and Bayern are lurking towards the foot of the division and need to start racking up points and positions in the league if they are to secure a spot in the next round of the competition.
Given their imperious domestic form, today's tie is arguably the most testing challenge of the season so far for both teams, with the pressure on both managers to get over recent UCL slip ups.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
NEIL HALL / EFE
Bayern's previous UCL games this season:
Bayern 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb: Bayern did what Bayern do and smashed a lower level European team on the top stage in the early rounds of the Champions League. They put 9 (nine) goals past Dinamo Zagreb and flew to the top of the league, but it didn’t last for long…
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern: The English side sprung a surprise on the Germans at Villa Park, beating them 1-0 thanks to a goal from super-sub Durán. The game saw Dibu Martínez have a classic performance, both keeping out various efforts from the Bayern players as well as making himself the protagonist on the pitch for his antics that has enamoured the Villa faithful.
Despite Kompany playing down the loss in the aftermath, it was a huge result for Villa who - spoiler alert - are top of the league before kick-off tonight, and it put the pressure on Bayern to perform well against Barcelona.
MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
Barça's UCL games this season:
Monaco 2-1 Barcelona: The Catalans got their current Champions League campaign off to a rocky start as they slipped up to AS Monaco on match day 1. Having demolished all the sides in LaLiga until this point, Barça were feeling confident ahead of their trip to France.
However, a Lamine Yamal goal was not enough to keep the rampant home team at bay, and strikes from Akilouche and Ilenikhena took advantage of an uncharacteristically wobbly Barça defence and sent them packing.
Barcelona 5-1 BSC Young Boys: It was in the second game where Flick’s side really got things back on track in Europe, and put the Monaco nightmare behind them.
They crunched through a lacklustre Young Boys side, who were simply calamitous in all areas of the pitch. The result did not flatter Barça, but they would be unwise to draw too many conclusions from a game that was simply a matter of teams on different levels of the game.
Pre-game quotes:
We are looking to improve daily, match after match. It’s an important week, a very special one and if we want to play like Barça we have to be prepared for it. We are working very hard and we are focused on the challenges ahead of us.
I started the season with a different mentality, and I knew that playing in this Club I would have to adapt to playing in different positions. I am really happy about how things are going. If before I was working at 100%, now it’s 200%. I want to give my best for the Club.
It’s a source of great pride to wear the armband, not just on the field but off it and in the dressing room. Listening to everyone, helping everyone as much as I can. I am always ready for my team mates and it’s a happy, emotional thing to be captain.
Here's how the stadium looks before kick-off
It's a lovely evening in Barcelona as Bayern are welcomed to the old Olympic stadium at the top of Montjuïc.
The 55,926 arena is the blaugrana home until their 'new' Spotify Camp Nou is fully renovated.
Bayern's pre-game prep looks horrible
A sunny morning warmup session in Barcelona... oh, the pain.
When does the game start?
Great question. The Champions League match-up kicks off today, Wednesday October 23, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. ET/12 noon PT. Viewers in the United States can watch Barça vs Bayern on TUDN USA and Paramount+.
How will Barcelona line up?
Everything points to IñakiPeña starting in goal, with Szczesny still waiting for his moment to make his debut.
In defence, Koundé and Balde will keep their places with a central pairing of Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez tasked with keeping a close eye on Harry Kane.
In the centre of the field, Casadó and Pedri are expected to play with Lamine and Raphinha on the flanks.
The only doubt for Flick is who plays behind Lewandowski and his options are Fermín or the fit again Dani Olmo.
Who's the ref?
Well, it's Slavko Vincic who is set to take charge of today’s heavyweight Champions League tie between Barcelona and Bayern Munich (3pm ET).
The experienced referee oversaw last season’s Champions League final when he took charge of Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
He made his Champions League debut in 2016 and has now blown the whistle at over 40 games in Europe’s elite club competition.
Team news: Bayern
Missing out on the trip to Spain is the Bayern quartet of Ito, Stanisic, Boey and Pavlovic, all of whom are important losses for Vincent Kompany on the bench tonight.
However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that he still has an incredibly strong side at his disposal and one that will give Barcelona their biggest test of the season so far.
Team news: Barcelona
Despite Barcelona finally welcoming back plenty of faces from the physio room (we’ll get to those later), there are still plenty of players signing in every day for rehab.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is perhaps the biggest loss of them all, and he’ll be out all season with a knee issue.
Bernal is also out for the long term, while Araujo, Ferran and Christensen are hopefully going to get back to action slightly sooner.
Welcome!
Hello and a warm welcome to Catalonia as Barcelona welcome German opponents Bayern Munich league stage of the UEFA Champions League!
It’s Joe here today to bring you all the action as it unfolds at the Estadi Lluis Companys in Barcelona.
We’ll have the action in around 90 minutes from now but stay tuned for all the pre-game buildup.