Critical Minutes for Barça: Defensive Woes in the Second Half

Last season, a significant part of FC Barcelona’s success under Xavi Hernández was attributed to their solid defense. However, this season has seen a notable shift for the Blaugranas, who are conceding more goals than the previous campaign. Notably, there’s a specific time frame where Barcelona is vulnerable, and addressing this issue will be crucial when facing Napoli in the Champions League.

Barça has conceded ten goals this season between the start of the second half and the 60th minute. Alarmingly, seven of these goals have come in the last seven matches. In these recent encounters, the team has let in 14 goals, with half of them occurring immediately after the halftime break.

The issue surfaced in the 21st La Liga match against Betis when Isco scored in the 56th and 59th minutes to equalize a game that Barcelona had under control. The trend continued in the Copa del Rey against Athletic Club, where Sancet found the net in the 49th minute, leveling the tie, and the Basque side secured passage to the semifinals in extra time. The following match saw Villarreal’s Ilias Akomach scoring the 0-2 in the 54th minute, resulting in another defeat for Barça.

Although Barcelona seemed to halt the bleeding with a narrow 1-0 victory over Osasuna in the subsequent game, Samu Omorodion brought Alavés back into the match in the 51st minute at Mendizorroza.

The last two games under Xavi have followed the same pattern. Granada took the lead in Montjuic in the 60th minute with a goal from Pellistri, leading to a 3-3 draw. Last weekend, Iago Aspas scored the 1-1 two minutes into the second half for Celta.

Not only does Barcelona concede between the 45th and 60th minutes, but they also hold the unwanted title of the team in the major European leagues that has conceded the most goals in 2024 across all competitions. In 12 games played this year, Barça has shipped 24 goals, averaging two per game.

In the top European competitions, only Frosinone and Salernitana have conceded more than 20 goals. Frosinone, with 22 goals conceded, sits in 14th place in Serie A, while Salernitana, at the bottom of the Italian league, has let in 21 goals. With these statistics, competing against the best becomes a challenging task for Barcelona.