Barcelona vs Bayern match facts

Matchday 3 of UEFA Women's Champions League Group D brings together two heavyweight names of European football as 2020/21 winners Barcelona play host to two-time semi-finalists Bayern München with both clubs on six points after their opening two matches.

The Blaugrana, who were unable to defend their European crown last season, losing 3-1 to Lyon in the Turin final, have reached the showpiece of this competition in three of the last four seasons. They also went down to the French outfit in 2019 before defeating Chelsea 4-0 to capture their first title two years later.

Barça extended their record haul of Primera División titles last term with their third in succession and seventh overall, winning all 30 of their league games and scoring 159 goals.

Barcelona posted their biggest European victory on Matchday 1, a 9-0 success at home to Benfica in which seven players got on the scoresheet with Asisat Oshoala and substitute Geyse both scored twice. They consolidated eight days later by beating Rosengård 4-1 in Sweden with doubles from Aitana Bonmati and Mariona Caldentey.

Bayern, who finished four points behind Wolfsburg in second place in the 2021/22 Frauen-Bundesliga, were runners-up behind Lyon in Group D last term before being eliminated after extra time in the quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain (1-2 h, 2-2 a).

Alexander Straus, who took over as Bayern head coach in June, guided his new club into this season's group stage thanks to a 4-1 aggregate success against Real Sociedad in Round 2 (1-0 a, 3-1 h). They opened Group D with a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Rosengård, then overturned a two-goal deficit against Benfica, winning 3-2 in Lisbon thanks to two late strikes from new signing Georgia Stanway, the second deep into added time, after Maximiliane Rall had initiated the comeback.

Barcelona and Bayern have been paired together once before in the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Spanish side winning both legs of their 2018/19 semi-final 1-0 with Caldentey scoring the second-leg winner in Barcelona from the penalty spot to send her club to their first final (they have since reached two more).

They last met on 16 August in the semi-finals of a pre-season tournament in Toulouse, Bayern winning 2-1 with substitute Emelyne Laurent scoring on 84 minutes after Caroline Graham Hansen had cancelled out Giuila Gwinn's opener late in the first half. Lucy Bronze and Geyse both represented Barcelona for the first time while goalkeeper Maria Grohs starred for Bayern.

Barcelona's record in UEFA competition against German teams is W5 L4, all four defeats inflicted by Wolfsburg, while Bayern's only other matches against Spanish opposition were this season's two wins against Real Sociedad.

Players to watch

Keira Walsh

The 25-year-old midfielder was a star performer in England's UEFA Women's EURO 2022 success, earning the Player of the Match award in the final, a 2-1 extra-time victory at Wembley against Germany.

A Manchester City player for eight years, during which she won the 2016 English league title and three Women's FA Cups, she joined Barcelona in the summer for a world-record fee.

Walsh made 29 UEFA Women's Champions League appearances for City over six campaigns, including this one, before making her Barcelona bow in the competition on Matchday 2 against Rosengård.

An England youth international at various age groups, she made her senior debut in November 2017 and made her tournament bow at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

Her international career peaked this summer when she started all of England's matches as they became European champions for the first time, her composed midfield play a keystone in the success.

Georgia Stanway

Another stand-out performer in England's Women’s EURO 2022 triumph, and Walsh's former team-mate at Manchester City, Stanway agreed a deal to leave City for Bayern in May.

A scorer of 39 goals in 109 FA Women's Super League games for the Manchester club, Stanway also found the net seven times in 21 UEFA Women's Champions League matches.

Her first goals for Bayern came on Matchday 2 when she scored a crucial late double to help her new club come from behind to beat Benfica 3-2.

A prolific scorer for England at youth level, she found the net on her senior debut in a 3-0 win against Austria in November 2018.

Her most famous international goal was a powerful long-range strike that enabled England to defeat Spain 2-1 in extra time of their Women's EURO 2022 quarter-final in Brighton.

Key facts

Barcelona have won their last 16 home fixtures in the UEFA Women's Champions League, since a 0-1 defeat against Lyon in the second leg of the 2017/18 semi-final.

Barcelona have scored four or more goals in their last six European home games, 32 in total.

Home and away, Barcelona have won all eight of their group stage matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding just two.

Barça have won 13 of their last 15 UEFA Women's Champions League games, losing the other two.

Barcelona have failed to score in only two of their last 37 European games.

Bayern have won each of their last five UEFA Women's Champions League group stage matches.

The team from Bavaria have won all four of their European fixtures this season.

Bayern have lost only three of their last 20 European games (W15 D2).

The Munich club have only failed to score in one of their last 23 UEFA Women's Champions League matches.