It’s a tough task ahead for Gareth Taylor’s side who will be hoping to topple the title holders, just like City did three years ago, in our last outing in the competition.
One player who can say a sentence not many others can is former Blue Sam Mewis, who scored the winning goal as City beat Barcelona 2-1 in our Champions League quarter-final second leg clash back in 2021.
However, it wasn’t enough for City to progress after a 4-2 aggregate defeat, with Barcelona going on to win the Champions League a few months later.
Despite our European journey ending at the last eight stage, Mewis still reflects positively on the occasion and the part she played in it.
“When I look back on my whole career, I’m so glad I got to play in the Champions League when I did because my career did get cut a little bit short and now I have no other chances to do it,” said Mewis back in March.
“Even though we didn’t win or go as far as I think that we hoped we would, Barcelona was such an incredible team.
“We got to travel to Italy before that and Sweden before that and just getting to play in the Champions League and score some goals.
“It was something not as a young American player I dreamed of but as you grow into the game and you learn more about football globally and I think it becomes like ‘oh wow, that’s something that we [American players] could do’ and if we go to a top club in Europe we get to do that.
“So it was incredible and even though I wish we had won [on aggregate], I’m really grateful looking back now that I got to be a part of it.”
Taylor’s side were the first team to score more than one goal against Barcelona in 38 matches, thanks to Mewis’ spot kick. The Spanish champions had also gone 11 games without conceding.
Janine Beckie put City ahead at the Joie Stadium after 20 minutes of end-to-end football.
Asisat Oshoala drew Barcelona level near the hour mark before Barcelona defender at the time, Leila Ouahabi, brought down Ellen White in the 66th minute. Two minutes later Mewis slotted the ball into the bottom left corner.
Our triumph left Barcelona was a result that likely remains a fan-favourite to this day.
Mewis believed facing one of the best teams in Europe was a blessing and a curse in the quarter-finals. And the former United States international reflected on what might have been had we faced them at a different point in the competition.
“Obviously if we had played somebody else, who knows what would have happened,” said Mewis.
“But playing against the best team was so eye-opening for me. We had a great team but it takes so much more than that to win.
“It was very indicative of like how special it is to be part of the Champions League.”
Read Sam Mewis’s Once a Blue in full here.
