Will Barcelona break their opening match curse away from home in the Champions League against Newcastle?
Spanish side Barcelona will kick off their 2025/2026 Champions League campaign today, Thursday, with an away match against their counterparts, English club Newcastle United.
Barcelona are set to face Newcastle United at St James' Park, as part of the first round of the league stage of the Champions League.
In recent years, the Catalan club has struggled significantly in their opening Champions League matches when playing away from home in the continental competition.
Barcelona faces the curse of opening away matches in the Champions League
According to Spanish newspaper Sport, Barcelona has not achieved any victory in their last four opening matches played away from home in the Champions League. The most recent was last season's 2-1 defeat against Monaco.
Before that, they drew goalless against Borussia Dortmund in the 2019/2020 season, drew 1-1 with Roma in 2015/16, and their match against Inter Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza in 2009/10 also ended in a goalless draw.
The newspaper added that this season will only be the second time Barcelona plays their opening match at a Premier League stadium. The first time was in the 1998/99 season against Manchester United at Old Trafford, which ended in a 3-3 draw.
It further stated that out of the 35 previous editions the Catalan club has participated in, they started with 25 wins, 7 draws, and 3 losses. However, when looking at opening matches away from Barcelona, the record weakens: 5 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses.
It concluded that this season, the Catalans are seeking redemption after being eliminated last season in the semi-finals in Milan against Inter, after losing in extra time in the second leg, when they were one step away from reaching the final. The goal this year is nothing less than reaching the final match scheduled at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30th.
It concluded that last year saw the adoption of a new system in the Champions League, where the first stage matches were increased by two additional games, with a unified ranking for all teams. Hans Flick's team wants to secure one of the top eight positions to avoid playing a playoff for the round of 16, as they did last season when they secured second place.
