Barcelona fought hard: winning = qualifying, earning 12.4 million, and lifting the crisis
"It's a final!"
"Decisive Battle"
On November 28, the cover headlines of "Daily Sport" and "World Sports" were identical. In the 5th round of the Champions League group stage, Barcelona hosted Porto. For Barcelona, it was not a battle of life and death, but it was a decisive battle that had to be won: for morale, for bonuses, for the position.
In the last round of the Champions League, Barcelona lost 0-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk in the good situation of "drawing to qualify", and missed the early promotion. In this Champions League, Barcelona returned to their home stadium to face their rival Porto. The situation for Barcelona is clear: take three points and qualify.
According to Le Monde Sport, Barcelona are ready to play a tough game, with pressure and motivation on coach Xavi coexisting. Cancelo's words speak for the whole team: "We see this Champions League as a final, we have to win it! ”
Victory is Barca's only pursuit. Scoring three points means a lot:
A win will qualify. In the past two seasons, Barcelona have failed in the group stage of the Champions League, finishing third in the Europa League. A giant like Barcelona is not honored to be committed to the Europa League.
One win means €12.4 million in prize money. €2.8 million for every win in the Champions League and €9.6 million for advancing to the round of 16. The generous Champions League bonus can relieve Barcelona's financial pressure.
Coach Xavi is also under extreme pressure. Daily Sport and Ass have revealed that if Barcelona are unable to win Porto and still fail to qualify, Xavi will feel that his position will be difficult to secure. Only a victory over Porto will resolve Xavi's crisis.
Barcelona will field their strongest squad against Porto. The suspense is whether Ter Stegen will be able to play. The German lion king is still sore in his back, with RAC1 believing he is unavailable, while Daily Sport says "anything is possible". It is possible that Ter Stegen will be forced to start on painkillers.
Barcelona's starters in other positions, there is not much suspense to speak of:
Jules Kounde played at right-back, Araujo and Inigo Martinez partnered in central defence, Joao Cancelo played at left-back, Gundogan, De Jong and Pedri in midfield, and Raphinha, Lewandowski and Felix in the front.