Following their 1-0 loss away to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League last week, the pressure is on Barcelona to turn things around in order to avoid another group-stage elimination like last season.
The Catalan giants finished third in their group last term, behind Bayern Munich and SL Benfica, and ended up playing in the UEFA Europa League knockout stages.
The loss to Inter Milan has left them third in the Group C standings now, six points shy of leaders Bayern Munich and three below the Nerazzurri, who sit second.
So, it becomes imperative that the Blaugrana must get all three points in the upcoming match against Inter at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday.
However, SPORT claims that the Barcelona dressing room does not want to leave anything to chance with regard to their qualification for the next stage of the competition.
The report states that there is a ‘fear’ within the dressing room that Bayern Munich might drop points against Inter Milan when the two teams face off against each other on the final matchday, as Die Roten would want to knock Barça out of the competition.
The relationship between the two clubs has become a bit tense over the past year due to Barcelona’s pursuit of Robert Lewandowski in the summer transfer window.
It was claimed that they were able to smooth things over during a meeting last month when Barcelona played Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
However, it seems that the Blaugrana fear that the German champions might still look to exact some measure of revenge by playing a role in their elimination from the Champions League.
Hence, the dressing room believes that the only way for them to be sure of qualifying for the next round is by winning all three of their remaining matches. In such a case, the Catalans will not have to rely on results elsewhere to be certain of their place in the Round of 16.
Despite what’s being said, it is extremely unlikely that Bayern would willingly drop points even though their qualification for the next round seems given. However, considering that Die Roten’s form has been a bit dodgy this term, Inter will fancy their chances against them.
Barcelona face Inter Milan up next in the Champions League at Spotify Camp Nou before hosting Bayern Munich later this month. They will wrap up the group stage with an away game against Viktoria Plzen in November.
