28 km: The difference between Barcelona’s 2-8 humiliation and 4-1 triumph vs Bayern

FC Barcelona’s resounding 4-1 victory against Bayern Munich at Montjuic last night was a perfect demonstration of the team’s renewed image since Hansi Flick took over the reins in the summer.

The Catalans were clinical in front of the goal on Wednesday night, scoring four goals from their four shots on target against Manuel Neuer, and showed a collective sacrifice that proved crucial in overcoming their opponent’s physicality and intensity on the pitch.

Alarming difference

A clear indication of the effort and intensity that the Barcelona players put in on the night was the distance covered by them during the match: 126.55 km.

This remarkably high figure significantly exceeded that of Bayern, who finished with 120.58 km in their legs.

Hansi Flick’s Barça exact revenge on Bayern Munich. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

To put this into perspective, in their last two matches against the Bavarians, during the Champions League group stage two seasons ago, Barcelona finished with 118.59 km and 117.8 km respectively.

Going a step back further to the humiliating 2-8 thrashing back in 2020, when Flick was in charge of the Bavarian giants, Barcelona finished having covered only 98 km, a whopping 28 km fewer than what the Blaugrana players registered yesterday.

The high-pressing from the front and intensity have been a key feature of the team under Hansi Flick this season, which is clearly working very well for them.

This notable change has borne fruit in defeating their European bogey team in Bayern Munich and gaining momentum before this weekend’s El Clasico which will have major repercussions on the La Liga standings.

Source: Mundo Deportivo