Barcelona’s European revival faces stern Aston Villa challenge as defensive woes deepen

Barcelona will try to recover from their 4-2 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain when they host Aston Villa on Tuesday, 03 November 2026, with manager Hansi Flick under pressure to address a recurring weakness in the Champions League.

The Catalan club’s immediate concern is their habit of conceding first. According to figures published by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have fallen behind in nine of their past 12 Champions League matches, forcing them to pursue a difficult recovery on each occasion.

They have taken the lead in only three of those games. Raphinha opened the scoring in this season’s 5-1 win against Feyenoord, while last season Barcelona scored first in the second leg against Atletico Madrid, a 2-1 defeat, through Lamine Yamal. Raphinha also scored first in the 7-2 victory over Newcastle.

In the other nine matches, Barcelona conceded before finding the net. Those opponents were Paris Saint-Germain, who scored through Doue in a 4-2 win; Galatasaray, who opened the scoring through Patrakov in a 1-4 result; and Atletico Madrid, whose first-leg 0-2 win began with a goal from Julian Alvarez.

The list also includes Newcastle’s 1-1 draw, after Barnes scored first; Copenhagen’s 4-1 defeat, when Dadason put the visitors ahead; Slavia Prague’s 2-4 win, which began with a goal from Kosej; Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-1 victory, after Knauff’s opener; Chelsea’s 3-0 win, in which Kounde scored an own goal; and the 3-3 draw with Club Brugge, following Tresoldi’s goal.

Barcelona’s clean-sheet drought

Barcelona’s defensive record in Europe is even more troubling. They have conceded in 18 consecutive Champions League matches, a run that has not been halted since the first leg against Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the season before last.

That 4-0 victory remains the last occasion on which Barcelona kept a clean sheet in the competition. Since then, they have conceded against Olympiacos in a 6-1 match, Paris Saint-Germain in a 1-2 defeat and Newcastle in a 1-2 loss.

The sequence also includes the dramatic 3-3 and 4-3 semi-final matches against Inter Milan in 2015, as well as the second leg of the quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, which Barcelona won 3-1.

Flick now faces a formidable test against an ambitious Aston Villa side seeking to demonstrate that they are genuine contenders for the trophy this season. Keeping them out will be particularly difficult: the English club have scored 12 goals in their opening three matches in the competition and arrive with a potent attack.