The drama of Barça with the goals conceded

Defensive problems affecting the whole team

Barça shows an obvious defensive flaw that impacts all its lines, starting from the front. The absence of Joan Garcia, injuries, and the poor performance of players like Koundé, along with the lack of Raphinha, crucial in pressing, have left Hansi Flick´s team vulnerable. Clean sheets have become a rarity. The last time Barça managed to keep a clean sheet was on September 21, when they defeated the always tricky Getafe 3-0 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, in the second and last match there this season. Since then, they have conceded goals in seven consecutive matches. Oviedo and Real Sociedad scored one goal each, the Asturians against Joan Garcia, in the match where he got injured, and the Donostiarras against Wojciech Szczesny, who debuted this season and has defended Barça´s goal since then. Subsequently, the team conceded two goals from PSG, four from Sevilla, one from Girona and Olympiacos, and two from Real Madrid in the classic, despite Szczesny´s great performance.

Historic streak not seen since Koeman

This sequence of matches conceding goals hasn´t been recorded since the 2020/2021 season, when Ronald Koeman was in charge of Barça. Last season, with Hansi Flick, there were two phases of six consecutive matches conceding goals, but none of seven like the current one. If Elche scores in Montjuïc this weekend, they will equal the eight official matches in a row with a conceded goal from the Koeman era, five seasons ago. Interestingly, that bad streak was broken with a 3-0 victory against the same Illicitano team, something that could be repeated this Sunday.

16 goals in 13 matches

Another concerning statistic is the number of goals conceded so far this season. Between LaLiga and the Champions League, Barça has played 13 matches and has conceded 16 goals, surpassing one goal per match with an average of 1.23, much higher than in recent beginnings. Last year, in Hansi Flick´s debut, the blue and claret team had conceded 13 goals in the first 13 matches, three less than now. During Xavi Hernández´s two seasons (2022/2023 and 2023/2024), that figure was reduced to 11 in both cases. To find a worse record than the current one, we have to go back to Ronald Koeman´s second season, which he did not complete, when Barça conceded 17 goals in the first 13 matches, one more than currently. Additionally, during that period, they suffered five defeats, compared to the three now (PSG, Sevilla, and Real Madrid). These are concerning statistics that the team must reverse.