Barcelona must fix worrying stat to avoid trouble vs Atletico Madrid

Barcelona head into a high-pressure night at the Metropolitano Stadium knowing that their margin for error is gone.

Against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg, the task is to deliver a complete performance or risk crashing out.

After falling short in the first leg, Barcelona must now produce something special away from home.

But beyond the obvious need to score goals, there is one glaring issue that could define their fate, which is their defensive fragility.

For all their attacking quality, Barcelona’s inability to shut teams out in Europe has become a major concern.

Incredibly, the Catalan giants have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 14 Champions League matches.

Even more worrying, Barcelona are the only remaining quarter-finalist in the competition yet to record a single clean sheet this season.

At this stage of the tournament, such numbers are far from ideal, especially against a side as clinical and disciplined as Atletico.

Atletico Madrid have the habit of scoring first agianst Barcelona. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

The history between these two sides offers little comfort, as Atletico, under Diego Simeone, have repeatedly shown their ability to strike first in this fixture.

In fact, during the current era under Flick, Barcelona have gone behind in six of their nine meetings against Atletico.

It is a pattern that continues to put them on the back foot early, something they simply cannot afford in a game of this magnitude.

Yet, despite these worrying trends, Barcelona have also shown resilience. On three separate occasions, they have managed to turn the game around after conceding first against Atletico.

Simeone’s men have already demonstrated how dangerous they can be when given an opportunity.

In the first meeting between Flick and Simeone in Spanish football, Barcelona dominated large spells and looked in control.

But football is often decided in moments, and Alexander Sørloth proved exactly that. His decisive contribution secured a 1-2 win for Atletico in La Liga.