Analysis of FC Barcelona's potential opponents in the Champions League quarter finals
FC Barcelona are delighted to be back in the quarter finals of the Champions League after seeing off a difficult opponent in Napoli in the round of 16. But things are not going to get any easier in the pursuit of a place in the final at Wembley in May. This Friday, Xavi and his team will be finding out who they face in the quarter finals. Naturally enough, all seven of the other clubs that have made it this far in the competition are formidable opponents.
So let's take a close look at each of them
Arsenal
Four of the eight quarter final coaches, Xavi of course among them, have an FC Barcelona past. One of those is Mikel Arteta, a graduate of La Masia who only ever played for Barça B before going to on to forge a playing career mainly in England, including playing for and now managing Arsenal, who he has guided into a quarter final for the first time in 14 years.
The current leaders of the Premier League, who defeated Porto on penalties in the previous round, have a fine set of up and coming youngsters such as Saliba in defence, Odegaard in midfield and Bukayo Saka and Martinelli on the wings, who are complemented by more established players like Jorginho and Havertz, both former European champions with Chelsea, and former Manchester City man Gabriel Jesús, as well as the services secured this season of Declan Rice in the centre.
Since beating the Gunners in the 2006 Champions League final, Barça have met the Londoners three times in the knockout stages and have progressed every time.
Atlético Madrid
The last team to join the quarter finals party was Atlético, who needed extra time and penalties to finally see off last year's runners-up Inter Milan in a fascinating round of 16 encounter.
Of course, there is absolutely nothing that Barça don't already know about Diego Simeone and his team, which includes former blaugrana strikers Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann as two of the standout players, and who Barça will actually be playing this very weekend, having already beaten them 1-0 at the Estadi Olimpic in December.
Barça have a staggeringly strong record against the mattress-makers in recent years, but it should not have escaped anyone's attention that two of the rare occasions when the red-and-whites got the upper hand were precisely when the teams met in the Champions League. In both 2014 and 2016, it was Atlético who progressed at Barça's expense.
Bayern Munich
Bayern have not been dominating German football as they have been wont to do in recent years, having been stunned in the cup by 3rd division Saarbrücken and ten points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. And the alarm bells were ringing when they lost 1-0 to Lazio in the previous round, although they recapitulated with a commanding display in the second leg. But despite sometimes underperforming, the Bavarians are still very much a force to be reckoned with, especially with new recruit Harry Kane banging in an exceptional 36 goals in 34 games so far.
Coach Thomas Tuchel, who has already announced that he is leaving at the end of the season, knows all about this competition, having won it with Chelsea and reached the final with PSG. With the likes of Musiala, Gnabry, Sané and the ageless Thomas Müller moving the ball forward, and with Manuel Neuer in goal supported by such quality defenders as De Ligt, Dier and the brilliantly versatile Kimmich, he is anything but short of resources.
And Barça know all about Bayern. They've very much been the Catalans' bogey team in recent years, with some painful reverses whose memory needs to be confined to the past. Maybe this is the time to do just that.
Borussia Dortmund
The Germans found their way past runaway Dutch leaders PSV in the previous round and are perhaps the side that fewest punters predicted would still be in the competition at this stage. But it shouldn't really come as s surprise. Since reaching the final in 2014, Dortmund have appeared in the quarter finals five times. And although they are 20 points adrift of the top of the Bundesliga, under Edin Terzić they are once again showing that they are seasoned campaigners in Europe, finishing above PSG in their first round group.
Defensive solidity is very much to thank, with Schlotterbeck, Sülem, the veteran Hummels and former Liverpool and Juventus man Emre Can providing an excellent service, but ahead of them the rejuvenated Jadon Sancho, stalwarts Malen and Brandt, and strikers Füllkrug, Haller and young Adeyemi are absolutely nothing to be sniffed at either.
Considering they are such European heavyweights, there have been surprisingly few meetings between Borussia and Barça, and none at all in the Champions League knockout stages, and the only time they ever met in the group stage was in 2019–20.
Manchester City
There is little to be said about the defending champions that hasn't been said before. Pep Guardiola, who previously won the European trophy three times at Barça, once as a player and twice as manager, is running a super-team in Manchester, and which is back in business after struggling with injuries to star men De Bruyne and Haaland. But City are not just about those two. Foden is as spectacular as ever and Rodri is simply immense, and although they are not top of the Premiership right now, they are very much in the hunt to win it yet again.
Barça have not played Man City in a knockout match since eliminating them two years in a row in 2013 and 2014, but a lot has changed to the sky blues since then, who had no trouble putting an end to Copenhagen's run in the last 16.
Paris St Germain
Another former blaugrana who could be returning to Catalonia is the man who led Barça to its last European crown, Luis Enrique. After coaching the Spanish national side, the Asturian is now in charge of a new-look Parisian outfit after the departures of Neymar and Messi, although the attack is still spearheaded by one of the most lethal strikers in the current game, Kylian Mbappé.
PSG are once again dominating Ligue 1, and will be focusing almost all of their attention on what is still a pending cause in Paris, a first Champions League crown. They are back in the quarter finals after seeing off Real Sociedad relatively comfortably.
Paris Saint-Germain will always bring back memories of that extraordinary comeback win in 2017, although the last time Barça played PSG in the knockout stages, it was the French side that advanced.
Real Madrid
The Liga leaders made very hard work of getting past Leipzig in the previous round, but here they are, back in the quarter finals, and with no separation of teams from the same domestic competition from this round onwards, a Champions League Clásico is back on the cards. Thus far, the all-whites have the upper hand in the famous fixture this season, winning both at the Estadi Olimpic in the league and in the Spanish Super Cup Final in Riyadh.
More than any side in the draw, Real Madrid are the one that need the least introduction to Culers. We know all about the likes of Vinícius, Rodrygo and Brahim, and just what a threat Jude Bellingham is in front of goal.
Injuries have meant some changes in goal and defence, with Andriy Lunin now doing nets, while Carlo Ancelotti's midfield is packed with imposing figures like Valverde, Tchouaméni and Camavinga complemented by such exquisite veterans as Kroos and Modric. Madrid would be a formidable opponent, but as the cliché says, the form book goes out the window where a Clásico is concerned, and Barça would relish the opportunity to regain the bragging rights over their most bitter rival.