Barcelona aims to secure its place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in three seasons when they face Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian champions, in Hamburg tomorrow, Tuesday. The Spanish team, which defeated Shakhtar 2-1 at home last month, leads Group H with nine points from three matches. Barcelona is three points ahead of competitor Porto and five points ahead of the Ukrainian team in third place. A victory tomorrow will guarantee coach Xavi Hernandez's team a finish in the top two of the group, thus securing a spot in the knockout stage for the first time since the 2020-2021 season when they reached the Round of 16 and were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain.
Xavi stated in a press conference today: "We have done our homework. Nine points out of nine possible so far. It’s a perfect record, and tomorrow we must secure qualification; we have a chance and must not miss it. The second goal is to qualify at the top of the group, and that is in our hands." Barcelona has exited the group stage in the last two seasons of the top European club competition, finishing third and playing in the Europa League both times.
Having lost only once this season, which was a 2-1 defeat at home to Real Madrid in La Liga, Barcelona struggled against Real Sociedad in the league on Saturday, where Ronald Araujo scored a late header in stoppage time to achieve a 1-0 victory.
