Following Thursday’s draw in Istanbul, FC Barcelona have learned that they will be sharing 2021/22 Champions League Group E with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv.
It's a tough set of fixtures against three teams with which FC Barcelona have plenty of history in the competition.
Bayern Munich, winners of the last nine editions of the Bundesliga, and six-times European champions (most recently in 2020), are a formidable rival – and nobody will need reminding of the result the last time Barça crossed paths with the Bavarian giants. The club is under a new coach, Julian Nagelsmann, after Hansi Flick left to take charge of the national team.
The only time the teams have met in the group stage was in 1998/99, when after losing 1-0 in Germany, Barça were also beaten 2-1 at Camp Nou and failed to progress to the knockout stage.
Total games: 11
Barça wins: 2
Bayern wins 7
Draws: 2
Benfica finished third in last season's Primeira Liga. The 'Eagles' were back-to-back champions in 1961 and 1962, beating Barça in the first of those finals. The teams have crossed paths in the Champions League three times since, most recently in the 2014 group stage, with Barça winning three games, drawing three and never being beaten.
Total games: 7
Barça wins: 3
Benfica wins 1
Draws: 3
Dynamo Kyiv, Ukrainian champions last season after missing out to Shakhtar Donetsk in the previous four campaigns, are another familiar opponent. This is the sixth time Barça have met them in the competition. Although this fixture will always bring back memories of Andriy Shevchenko’s exploits in 1998, it has usually been the Catalans that have had the upper hand. The teams met in last season’s group stage and after winning 2-1 at home, Barça then won 4-0 in Ukraine.
Total games: 12
Barça wins: 8
Dynamo wins 3
Draws: 1
Jordi Cruyff: "We're Barça, we're ready"
The schedule
Barça will begin at the Camp Nou on September 14 against Bayern Munich, the same side they will also face in their final game, this time at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday 8 December.
Here’s the full fixture list (all times Central European Time):
Game 1
FC Barcelona v Bayern Munich | 14 September. 9.00pm
Game 2
Benfica v FC Barcelona | 29 September. 9.00pm
Game 3
FC Barcelona v Dynamo Kyiv | 20 October. 6.45pm
Game 4
Dynamo Kyiv v FC Barcelona | 2 November. 9.00pm
Game 5
FC Barcelona v Benfica | 23 November. 9.00pm
Game 6
Bayern Munich v FC Barcelona | 8 December. 9.00pm
As usual, the top two teams from each group will progress to the last sixteen, while the teams that finish third will go into the Europa League.
These will also be the teams that Barça will play in the UEFA Youth League.