Barcelona’s H2H record vs 2023/24 Champions League group stage opponents

After a few seasons of nightmarish draws in Europe, Barcelona fans were relieved to see three members of the Champions League’s proletariat drawn alongside them in Group H of the 2023/24 tournament.

The Catalan giants had been paired with German giants Bayern Munich for the past two seasons, also having to take on Inter and later Manchester United in the Europa League last year.

Barca came out of Pot 1 courtesy of their La Liga title win last season and avoided Pot 2’s Manchester United, Inter, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal by drawing Portuguese outfit Porto. Ukrainian champs Shakhtar Donetsk and Belgian counterparts Royal Antwerp make up the rest of Group H.

Here are the head-to-head records between Barcelona and their upcoming opponents.

Porto

Spain and Portugal may share a border but there’s still a rather whopping 1,052km between Camp Nou and Estadio do Dragao.

The last European trophy Porto won – the 2010/11 Europa League – set up their most recent clash with then Champions League holders Barca in the UEFA Super Cup. Goals late in the first and second halves from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas respectively led Pep Guardiola’s side to another trophy.

The two sides face off in the group stage of the UCL for the first time since 1999/00, when Barca earned comfortable 2-0 and 4-2 victories despite the legendary Mario Jardel’s best efforts.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Barca have slipped up in two previous meetings out of their nine with Shakhtar Donetsk, including in 2008/09 before then went on to win the Champions League. The Ukrainians won 3-2 at Camp Nou on the final matchday of the group stage – former Manchester City captain Fernandinho was among the scorers – but Barca had already secured top spot in Group C.

There was also a Super Cup meeting in 2009 which Barca won 1-0 at Stade Louis-II in Monaco after extra time as substitute Pedro scored the only goal of the game.

Royal Antwerp

Royal Antwerp are featuring in the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Belgians won the country’s top flight before beating AEK Athens 3-1 in the play-off round to reach the group stage

Tottenham alumni Toby Alderweireld and Vincent Janssen can look forward to a trip to Catalonia, where Antwerp haven’t played since 1965 during the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Barca only just squeezed through to the third round with a 3-2 aggregate victory despite Antwerp winning the first leg 2-1.

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