Flick urges Barcelona to learn from last year's Champions League failure

Hansi Flick urged his Barcelona players to learn their lessons from last year's failure in the Champions League ahead of the start of their 2025-26 campaign on Thursday. 

Barcelona travel to St. James' Park to face Newcastle United in what will be the fifth meeting between the two sides, and the first since March 2003. 

But the Blaugrana are out to end their over-decade-long wait for Champions League glory this season, having fallen short of a place in the final of last year's competition. 

Flick watched on as his team were beaten 7-6 on aggregate by Inter in the semi-finals in 2024-25, with the Serie A giants going on to lose 5-0 in the showpiece match to Paris Saint-Germain. 

Barcelona are handed an 8% chance of winning the competition this season, with only Manchester City (9%), PSG (11%), Arsenal (18%) and Liverpool (20%) rated higher for lifting the title by the Opta supercomputer, though Flick said his team must respond to last season's shortcomings. 

"From my experience, you always have to give your best in every game. I think we have to learn from each meeting, from what happened to us last year," Flick told reporters. 

"I want to repeat how we played on Sunday. Everyone was connected, focused. Lamine, Balde, Gavi were not there.

"But we did well against Valencia and that's what I want to see tomorrow as well, a good game."

Barcelona have won 12 of their last 16 Champions League games against English opposition (drawing two and losing two), scoring 2.1 goals per game on average during that run.

However, their last away Champions League game on English soil saw them lose 4-0 to Liverpool, and have only lost consecutive such matches on one occasion previously (against Arsenal in 2011 and Chelsea in 2012).

And Flick was not underestimating Eddie Howe's team, who come into the game having secured their first win of their Premier League season against Wolves last weekend. 

"I've never been to this stadium before. It's one of the best atmospheres. I expect intensity, dynamism. They are an opponent who is attentive to the second play," Flick added. 

"He's [Howe] grown in recent years and his coach has done a fantastic job.

"I think the game we played against Valencia was very good, I saw that we did what we want to do. Everyone wants the ball. There is trust.

"It will not be an easy crossing. They are strong. There are strong teams in the Champions League, but we are confident."

Of managers with 10+ games in charge of a team in the Champions League, the two sides with the highest goals per game average are both Flick teams – 3.2 with Bayern Munich (2019-2021) and 3.1 with Barcelona. 

And key to that attacking output has been Lamine Yamal, who netted five times as well as providing three assists in last year's run to the final four. 

The 18-year-old also completed more dribbles (56) than any other player in the competition in 2024-25, 17 more than AC Milan's Rafael Leao, who was second in that metric. 

However, Yamal is absent for the trip to Newcastle after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty with Spain, offering the chance for Marcus Rashford to shine. 

Rashford has made four appearances since his loan switch from Manchester United, only two of which were starts, registering his only assist so far in Barcelona's 6-0 rout against Valencia at the weekend. 

But the England international has a enjoyed playing against the Magpies. He has been directly involved in eight goals in 11 career starts against Newcastle (five goals, three assists), including four in six starts at St. James' Park against them (two goals, two assists).

"I want to talk about the players who can play. Tomorrow he can't play and we'll see on Sunday. We have a good squad and there are people for the position," Flick said. 

"Rashford is in the team. If someone can't play, he can come in. I hope he can show in England what he did on Sunday.

"I've followed Marcus since Man United. He has speed, one-on-one and definition. What I've seen in the first few weeks has been good and has a little more potential to show.

"It's very good to have him in the team. He's an incredible, fantastic player. What I'm seeing is very good."