The statistics in the final stretch of matches that worry Barça under Flick

Hansi Flick's FC Barcelona has been an unstoppable machine in offense this season, with 120 goals scored in just 39 matches. However, in defense, the team continues to face problems that it suffered last season, mainly in the final minutes of matches with tight scores. Against Atlético de Madrid, the team has now let results slip away in stoppage time on two occasions.

Flick's Barça has conceded 25 goals in 25 LaLiga matches, 13 in 8 Champions League games, and 5 in 4 Copa matches, in addition to a couple in the two Supercopa de España matches. In total, they have conceded 45 goals in 39 matches, averaging 1.15 per game. Of these, 24% (11) have come in the last quarter of an hour, 3 of them scored by Atlético (1 in LaLiga, 2 in Copa).

Besides the 'colchoneros', Betis and Atalanta also scored late goals that ended up costing Barça points, although the goal from the Italian team was less significant, as they had already secured their qualification in the Champions League. In that sense, the coach admitted after the first leg of the Copa semifinals the need to maintain control in the final minutes, managing the ball with greater confidence.

Flick's self-criticism for the late goals conceded

"We must control, we made changes to stabilize the defense, things went as they did and we have to accept it. The fourth goal makes me feel angry, we shouldn't have conceded it. There was no pressure, that's not how we work", Flick argued regarding Atlético's fourth goal, scored by Sorloth in the 90+3. Likewise, Pedri González also expressed his frustration at letting slip a victory that seemed secured after Robert Lewandowski's goal in the 74'.

"It already happened to us in LaLiga (against Atlético), that we threw away the last minutes and we repeat it again. We have to learn from these things. Above all, we need to have the ball and not push the line so much in the last minutes", explained the Canary. And indeed, if they had not maintained such a high line throughout the match, Barça would surely have conceded fewer goals this season. The lesson seems learned, and the team will have to put it into practice in the decisive stretch of the season to continue in the 'race' for the treble.