Allianz Arena, home stadium to Bundesliga's Bayern Munich, in Munich, Germany. /CFP
The coming UEFA Champions League games between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Red Bulls Leipzig and Manchester City, in Germany on December 7 and 8 will happen behind closed doors for COVID-19 concerns.
"Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona will be played behind closed doors," Barca said in a statement released on Friday. "The game corresponding to matchday six in the Champions League will be played without fans in the stadium due to the serious increase in coronavirus cases in the German region of Bavaria in the last few weeks."
Germany saw a surge of over 73,000 cases and 390 new deaths on Thursday, the most since early March. The country's overall death toll has already surpassed 102,000. The government has placed a 50-percent capacity limit on sporting stadia. No more than 15,000 spectators are allowed for any outdoor event.
Robert Lewandowski (C) of Bayern Munich celebrates after scoring a goal in the UEFA Champions League game against Barcelona at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, September 14, 2021. /CFP
Bavaria, which had already cut the allowed supporter ratio to 25 percent of stadium capacity for all football games last week, suffered the most from the new wave of COVID-19 infections. Therefore, the state decided to ban fans for the foreseeable future.
"Football matches should be without spectators again. Bavaria will do that," Markus Soder, Bavaria's prime minister, posted on Twitter on Tuesday. "Football has a great role model function. We must now reduce contacts everywhere."
When Barcelona visits the empty Allianz Arena on December 8, the Spanish giants are not looking at promising prospects. Though they are currently the second in Group E with seven points, Benfica are only two points away, and the Portuguese club is hosting the bottom team, Dynamo Kiev, on the same day. If Benfica wins and they are very likely to do so, Barca will have to beat Bayern on the road to reach the Round of 16. A draw will still send Barcelona to the UEFA Europa League because Benfica have a head-to-head record advantage over Barca.
Thomas Muller (C) of Bayern Munich celebrates after scoring a goal in the UEFA Champions League game against Barcelona at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, September 14, 2021. /CFP
Considering that Barcelona lost to Bayern 3-0 at Camp Nou the first time they met, it won't be easy to make a difference in Germany this time, with or without spectators.
Moreover, the fact that Lionel Messi beats Robert Lewandowski to win this year's Ballon d'Or only gave Bayern a bigger motivation not to pull their punches at home. Though Messi is no longer playing for Barca, he spent most and the best part of his career at Camp Nou.
"From a Bavarian, Polish and also from a German point of view, the presentation of the Ballon d'Or yesterday evening was definitely a disappointment," Thomas Muller of Bayern said on his LinkedIn profile. "This is also a huge motivation for me to put everything into the balance in order to bring the Champions League back to Munich and to show the football world what is going on. And above all, what German football has to offer. We have the next opportunity to do so next Wednesday in the Champions League game against Barcelona. Let's tackle it!"