Every club seems to have one. That result that sits so pointedly in the psyche that one need not even name the opponents for fans to recoil in horror. Try saying “6-1” to a Manchester United fan or “7-1” to a follower of Brazil. Speak of the scoreline 8-2 in Barcelona and you will see the same reaction. Fans of the Blaugrana, eyes hazily glaring off into the distance, recalling every single one of Bayern Munich’s 26 shots in the Champions League battering they suffered back in 2020.
The result has left a lasting scar on the previously impervious modern Catalan machine. An indelible line drawn under the era of Lionel Messi-led dominance. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and the rest were long gone and their old Argentinian talisman would soon follow. This result was ground zero for Barcelona transitioning from “mes que un club” to merely “un club”.
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When Barcelona were drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich in the 2022-23 Champions League, you could hear the collective sigh from Camp Nou. “Not this lot again!”. But Tuesday's meeting between these two monoliths of continental soccer will be vastly different than the infamous 8-2. As mentioned, Barcelona’s heartbeat, Messi, now plays for Paris Saint-Germain. But the German champions’ talisman that day, and for most of the last decade, Robert Lewandowski? He now turns out for the Blaugrana.
It seemed impossible in the wake of that battering in August 2020, but Barcelona actually go into this match with a psychological advantage. Having a player who scored 344 goals in 374 games for Bayern on the opposing side will stick in the craw of the German giants and their fans. They cannot even point to him being past his best at the age of 34 either. The Poland international has netted nine goals in six appearances for his new club.
Had Lewandowski’s protracted and at times acrimonious switch not occurred then the build-up to this game would have been defined by the 8-2. With Barcelona being such a unique and absorbing maelstrom of disorganisation over the summer, there may have even been fears of another such hammering at the hands of Bayern.
But in taking Lewandowski, Barcelona have also taken Bayern’s hold over them. Lewandowski did not score the most goals against Barcelona that day, netting once while Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Muller scored two apiece. But no player has been more symbolic of Bayern’s domestic dominance over the last decade. Barcelona may not have signed their chief tormentor, but they have signed Mr Bayern Munich.
Bayern have not always found life easy in their brief spell without their second all-time goalscorer. A 7-0 thrashing of FC Bochum early in the season seemed to suggest the goals would simply come from elsewhere. But the Munich giants have drawn all three of their league games since, against opponents where you imagine Lewandowski’s cutting edge could have proved decisive. Borussia Monchengladbach, Union Berlin and Stuttgart might not have got off so easily had the legendary Pole been involved.
On the other hand, Barcelona have benefited mightily from the presence of their new striker. While a 0-0 on the opening day with ten men was an unedifying start to the campaign, they have won every league game since. Xavi’s side also opened their Champions League season with a 5-1 mauling of Viktoria Plzen in which Lewandowski netted a hat-trick. Bayern will provide a far stiffer test on Tuesday evening, but the Catalan club have hit the ground running.
Rematches are often sold on the idea of “repeat or revenge”. But it could be argued Barcelona already have their revenge for the 8-2 humiliation no matter the result on Tuesday. Shorn of their own central figure in Messi, they have ripped Bayern’s right out of the heart of the team and are reaping the rewards. Even another thumping defeat at the hands of the Bundesliga side would not erase the long-term benefits of being able to field Robert Lewandowski.
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