Hansi Flick is looking forward to Barcelona’s new European journey after the club’s Champions League schedule was revealed on Saturday.
Thursday’s draw gave us a very exciting run of League Phase matches for Barça including meetings with Chelsea and Newcastle, as well as the marquee matchup of the opening stage of the competition against European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Barça begin the League Phase away to Newcastle at St. James’ Park and at home to PSG in their first two games, and Flick was
asked about what awaits his team in Europe. The German sounded excited and ambitious, and made his goal for the competition this season very clear.
“For a team like Barça and other clubs, the goal is to win the Champions League. It’s the best competition, and this new chapter of the Champions League is a lot of fun. I watched the draw with [assistant] Marcus Sorg. There are big games, and they’re all different, but we’re happy to be playing in it. Last season we played a fantastic semi-final, but this season we’ll give it our all.”
The Blaugrana were second in the League Phase last season and would benefit greatly from another Top 2 finish this season, as UEFA’s new rules give the first two seeds guaranteed home games in the second legs of all knockout rounds. After last season’s heartbreak at San Siro, it would certainly help Barça if they could have a semi-final second leg at home, especially if they are able to play at Camp Nou again.
