Pique Barcelona talks about the difference from Bayern Munich: everything has changed since 2015

Pique said the difference between Barcelona and Bayern Munich was the performance of the two clubs ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match.

In 2015, Barca beat Bayern in the semi-finals of the Champions League to advance to the European Treble, but since then, Barça's record has been declining. In their final two matches against Bayern, Barca won 11-2 on aggregate.

This week, Barca will travel to Munich and if they fail to achieve a victory, they will face the danger of being eliminated in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2000.

"The functioning of the club, it's that simple," Pique said bluntly when asked why Bayern, the team that has reached the round of 16, has done better than Barca in recent years.

Bayern won the title by beating Barca 8-2 in the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals, while they also won the Bundesliga for nine consecutive times. Barca have only won the Copa del Rey in the last two years.

Pique has implicitly accused former president Bartomeu of causing Barca's decline, listing Bartomy as one of the worst presidents in the club's history in an interview in September.

Laporta's return as Bartomeu's successor in March represents a fresh start, but he has taken over a club in debt that has had a knock-on effect on the pitch this season.

Barca could book their Champions League round of 16 spot by winning in Munich, but if they can't do that and Benfica gets better at home against Dynamo Kiev, they will fall into the Europa League in the New Year.

"We're fighting for our lives," Pique added. "We can reiterate to ourselves that we can compete in europe's top competitions. The last two games against Bayern weren't as we had hoped, but that's a thing of the past. ”

Barca lost 1-0 to Real Betis, finishing seventh in the Raliga game, but Pique said things have improved since Xavi Hernandez took over as manager in November.

"We may spend hours here discussing the situation we're in, but we have to focus on the present and the future," the defender said.

"What we're seeing now is what's necessary to win a trophy – like lifting the ball high, stress after losing the ball, intensity and hunger." From then on, goals and performances will arrive, but that won't change overnight. ”

Barca face Bayern, who have scored 19 goals in five Champions League games this season, and Robert Lewandowski (27) have scored more goals in all competitions this season than Barca (25).

Germany will be short of Joshua Kimmich, Lyon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry, but coach Julian Negsmann said they would send a strong squad despite having locked in group number one.

Javi, who has won two of his first four games since taking office, drawn one and lost one, said he was looking forward to the challenge and That barca are seeking their first victory in Munich.

"Bayern is one of the worst opponents we can face," Harvey said. "They are one of the best teams in the world and we play on their pitch. It will be extremely difficult.

"If we win, we're done, which means it's the final. History tells us that we never won in Munich, but the record is going to be broken and we can't wait for the game to start. ”

The match will be empty due to Germany's restrictions on the coronavirus, and Barca still won't have Ansu Fati, Pedri, Sergio Aguero and Martin Breswaite in the race, but Xavi said Dembele was "100% recovered" and Jodi Alba should be able to get out of the blow.