Pere Romeu confirmed on Saturday that Aitana Bonmatí is back after five months out and will be among the squad called up as FC Barcelona host Bayern Munich at the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, May 3 at 16:30 in the second leg of a Women’s Champions League semifinal that is completely open after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
The numbers sharpen the stakes: Barcelona have never lost at the Spotify Camp Nou, they are chasing a seventh Champions League final appearance in the last eight years and are aiming to win a fourth European title. The first leg finished 1-1 at the Allianz Arena on Sunday, April 27, and Bayern arrive without Franziska Kett after her expulsion in that match — the same player who scored Bayern’s goal in the tie.
Saturday’s team news and Romeu’s tone left little doubt about how Barcelona view the fixture. He warned against treating the return to the final as a foregone conclusion, saying bluntly: "Si solo pensamos en acercarnos a la final, en ganar rápido para estar en la final, nos alejaremos de jugar bien y de hacer el partido que toca." The warning is practical as much as psychological: the tie is decided over 180 minutes and the first leg showed Bayern can create danger at key moments.
Romeu sketched the tactical problem Barcelona face at home: the game, he said, is similar to the first leg and will require breaking down an opponent organised in a block and ready to counter. He pointed to Bayern’s speed up front as the main threat, noting their ability to punish a team that overcommits on the attack. Barcelona must balance urgency with control, he said, and not simply rush for a quick result.
That balance will be watched closely in a stadium expected to be full of supporters. Romeu leaned into the home advantage: "con nuestra gente esto va a ser más fácil" and called the crowd a useful boost — "será un plus." He added an on-field exhortation for his players to set the tone: "salir a morder desde el minuto uno como auténticas bestias en todas las situaciones del juego." The combination of home form and renewed personnel underlines why Barcelona arrive at Camp Nou feeling they can do more than defend a draw.
From Bayern’s side the loss of Franziska Kett to the expulsion complicates planning — she was the scorer in the first leg — but her absence does not erase the threat the visitors posed in Germany. The first leg demonstrated Bayern’s capacity to compete closely and to create moments of danger, meaning the tie can still swing either way despite Barcelona’s unbeaten record at Camp Nou.
For Barcelona the return of Bonmatí after five months matters beyond morale. Her presence in the squad gives the club options in midfield and experience in the crunch moments that decide two-legged ties. Yet Romeu’s repeated caveat about not thinking only of the final makes clear the team’s priority: execute the match plan on Sunday rather than counting the minutes until the whistle that would send them through.
With the tie balanced on a 1-1 scoreline and the second leg set for Sunday at 16:30, the decisive question is whether Barcelona can use Camp Nou and Bonmatí’s return to tilt the contest, or whether Bayern’s counterattacking threat will exploit any openings. Given Barcelona’s home record and the emotional lift of a returning player, the facts point to the hosts as favourites to reach a seventh final in eight years and to chase a fourth European crown — provided they do not fall into the trap Romeu warned against and instead play the kind of controlled, aggressive game he demanded.
