Barcelona Faces Worst Slump as Christmas Approaches

Barcelona’s recent form has hit a new low as they suffered a home defeat against Atletico Madrid, losing their grip on the top spot in La Liga just before the Christmas break. Hansi Flick’s side will end 2023 in third place in the domestic competition. The Catalan club is going through a difficult period, having accumulated only 5 points from their last 7 matches.

Barcelona experienced another setback at home, marking their third consecutive home defeat. Flick’s team hosted Atletico Madrid in a crucial match that would determine the winter champions. Despite taking an early lead, the visitors managed to turn the game around, with Sorloth scoring a dramatic winner in the 96th minute to snatch the top position from Barcelona.

This poor run of results, with only one victory against Mallorca, highlights the team’s current struggles. Barcelona has squandered their advantage over their competitors: Atletico Madrid now leads the league with 41 points, followed by Real Madrid with 40 points, both teams having played one game less than Barcelona. To make matters worse, Athletic Bilbao, in fourth place, is now just two points behind Flick’s side.

If both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid win their postponed matches, they could extend their lead over Barcelona to 6 and 5 points respectively.

Barcelona has been the worst-performing team in La Liga between matchdays 13 and 18, collecting only 2 points. This statistic reflects the dramatic downturn for a team that started the season in excellent form but has since lost momentum.