Barcelona suffered their heaviest loss in 69 years; this was the first time they had conceded more than five goals in a UEFA Champions League game, and their worst concession since the 8–0 defeat to
Sevilla in the
round of 16 of the 1946 Copa del Generalísimo. The eight goals Bayern scored was the most a side had scored in a
European Cup knockout match since
Real Madrid defeated
FC Swarovski Tirol 9–1 in the
last 16 tie in 1990. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score in eight or more consecutive UEFA Champions League matches since
Cristiano Ronaldo in April 2018 (eleven games), while Bayern's coach Hansi Flick became only the third manager in
Champions League history to win his first six matches in charge, after
Fabio Capello in
1992–93 and
Luis Fernández in
1994–95. The match was also compared to the
2014 FIFA World Cup semi-final match between
Brazil and
Germany as Thomas Müller opened the scoring in the 7–1 routing of Brazil, which
Jérôme Boateng and Manuel Neuer also took part in. Flick had been the assistant coach of Germany in that match as well. Barcelona defender
Gerard Piqué stated that the club needed structural changes on all levels, while club president
Josep Maria Bartomeu described it as a "disaster". Three days after the game, Barcelona sacked manager Quique Setién. He was followed the next day by the club's
sporting director Eric Abidal. Setién was replaced on 19 August by
Ronald Koeman, who had played for the club from 1989 to 1995 and was their assistant manager under
Louis van Gaal from 1998 to 2000. Partly owing to this heavy defeat, Barcelona captain Lionel Messi demanded to leave Barcelona, explained his decision owed to the club's failing to compete for the Champions League title after three previous debacles in the competition (0–3 against Juventus in
2016–17 quarter-finals, 0–3 against
Roma in
2017–18 quarter-finals, and 0–4 against
Liverpool in
2018–19 semi-finals), by saying: "I looked further afield and I want to compete at the highest level, win titles, compete in the Champions League. You can win or lose in it, because it is very difficult, but you have to compete. At least compete for it and let us not fall apart in Rome, Liverpool and Lisbon. All that led me to think about that decision that I wanted to carry out." Although Messi ended up staying in the summer, the defeat proved to be the final involvement that
Ivan Rakitić, Nélson Semedo, Luis Suárez and
Arturo Vidal would have with the club, as all four players departed Barcelona during the following transfer window. Bayern Munich went on to win their
sixth title in the competition, overtaking Barcelona's total, following a 3–0 win over
Lyon in the
semi-finals and a 1–0 victory against
Paris Saint-Germain in the
final. This win would also secure the club's second
continental treble, becoming only the second European side – after Barcelona themselves – to achieve this feat on multiple occasions. Both teams would meet each other again twice later, first as part of the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage, which saw Bayern Munich emerge victorious again with a 3–0 score in both matches, the second of which ultimately sent Barcelona to the
UEFA Europa League for the first time in seventeen years, which further aggravated the perception of a crisis occurring within the team.
Marca pointed that Barcelona's relegation to the Europa League was the culmination of "a glorious cycle that was coming to an end," after the team had suffered a total of ten losses by at least a three-goal margin since 2017, calling the 2–8 defeat to Bayern "the worst." Both the teams went on to meet once again in the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage. Barcelona only saw their misery against Bayern continue after losing 2–0 away from home and 3–0 at home, knocking them out of the Champions League into the Europa League for a second successive season. It was the first time that Barcelona were eliminated from the group stage twice in a row in 24 years (in the
1997–98 and
1998–99 seasons respectively, the latter of which also involved Bayern Munich in that season's group stage). On 29 May 2024, Hansi Flick was appointed as Barcelona manager, signing a contract until 2026. That year, Barcelona and Bayern again faced each other, this time in the
league phase under the new Champions League format. Flick guided his new team to a 4–1 win against Bayern, putting an end to Barcelona's miserable streak. ==See also==