Barcelona will be without key defender for Champions League opener - Barca News Network
Barca News Network · Ahmad Sarmad Ansari · 2026-08-29T17:38:32+00:00 · nguồn gốc
FC Barcelona now know their opponents for the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League 2026-27 and also the schedule for their games in this first stage of the European competition. The Catalans are set to begin their next UCL campaign on 9 September, when they will face the Eredivisie side Feyenoord at the Spotify Camp Nou.
However, as Mundo Deportivo has noted, Hansi Flick will be without one of his key players for this game, i.e., the defender Eric Garcia. He remains suspended for this game because of the direct red card he received in the Blaugranes’ last game in the UCL, the second leg of the quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano, which ended in a 2-1 win for the Catalans, although they were still eliminated from the competition because of their deficit on aggregate.
According to point 63.01 of the UEFA Regulations for the Champions League 2026-27, any sending-off will result in a suspension for the next fixture a player plays in any European competition, and thus, he will miss the UCL opener this season.
Garcia has turned out to be a key player for Flick since the last season, and the German coach has given him a new role in the team this season, i.e., the starter on the right-back position. Thus, the Barcelona coach will not be too happy because of this situation.
However, he still has more than enough options to replace the Spaniard in his lineup, as Jules Kounde and Xavi Espart will be available. Hopefully, Barcelona will not miss their versatile defender too much, and his replacement will be able to put in a satisfactory performance to ensure the Blaugranes start their UEFA Champions League campaign with a win, especially as they are looking to win the competition this season.