"When the group stage ended, I said Liverpool" - Barcelona star claims Catalans are now favorites to win the UCL this season
Lamine Yamal has claimed that Barcelona are favorite to win the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League. The Spaniard believes the now-eliminated Liverpool were the favorites at the end of the group stage, where they emerged as the leaders.
The Reds were eliminated 4-1 on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 on March 11. Meanwhile, La Blaugrana defeated Benfica 4-1 on aggregate to book their place in the quarterfinals.
In a recent interview with SPORT, Yamal expressed his confidence in Barcelona and their likelihood of winning the UCL. He said (via Barca Universal):
"We’re the favourites for the Champions League. When the group stage ended, I said Liverpool were the favourites because they were first, and now that they’ve fallen, it’s us.”
The Catalan giants have been impressive, registering only one defeat in the 2024-25 UCL campaign. During the group stage, they were ranked second having registered 19 points from eight games.
La Blaugrana will now face Borussia Dortmund in a two-legged quarterfinal which will be played on April 9 and 15. The first leg will be played at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys while the second leg will be at Signal Iduna Park. If Hansi Flick's men could eliminate the German side, they would face either Bayern Munich or Inter Milan in the semi-final.
Given their clinical performance across several competitions this season, they have a decent shot at the UCL. Winning the trophy would be a decent achievement for the Catalan side as they last won it in 2015.
"Sometimes I'm judged solely on the goals" - Barcelona's striker Robert Lewandowski
Barca's target man Robert Lewandowski has revealed that he gets frustrated whenever he's only judged by the number of goals that he has scored. This comes after his attacking performance has been intensely scrutinized by pundits and Barca's supporters this season.
In an interview, Lewandowski shared his opinion about being judged solely on the number of goals he has bagged. He said (via Barca Universal):
"Sometimes I'm judged solely on the goals I score, even if I had a good game without scoring… That's a bit frustrating."
Lewandowski has bagged 35 goals and three assists in 40 games across competitions for the Camp Nou outfit this season. He remains an integral member of Flick's attack together with Raphinha and Yamal.
