Numbers show Barcelona were lucky to walk away with a draw against Newcastle | OneFootball

Barcelona returned from St James’ Park with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, and on the surface, the result looked positive for Hansi Flick’s side.

Considering the circumstances, Barcelona could feel satisfied with the outcome. 

Flick had to make several adjustments to his starting lineup, while the team also suffered worrying moments during the match when midfielders Marc Bernal and Pedri both needed attention.

In that context, leaving England with a draw and the second leg to be played at the Spotify Camp Nou may appear like a good result.

However, a closer look at the statistics from the match reveals a very different story. 

Barcelona once again conceded in the Champions League, meaning the team has still not managed to keep a clean sheet in the competition this season.

More concerning was the way Barcelona struggled to control the game with the ball, something that has traditionally been one of the club’s strongest qualities.

A look at the worrying numbers

Against Newcastle’s intense pressing, the Catalan side looked unusually uncomfortable in possession. 

The team finished the match with just 403 passes, the lowest total they have recorded in a game this season.

To understand how unusual that number is, Barcelona normally average around 700 passes per match, with their highest being 844 passes in a single game.

Not only were the passes fewer in number, but their accuracy also dropped noticeably. 

Barcelona completed only 81.14% of their passes during the match, far below their usual standard of close to 90 %.

Barcelona were lucky to pull off a draw against Newcastle United. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Another issue was where those passes occurred. A large portion of them came between defenders in Barcelona’s own half rather than in attacking areas of the pitch.

Notably, the difficulty Barcelona faced against Newcastle also mirrors the same issues they experienced earlier this season against Chelsea in a heavy 0-3 defeat.

Struggle against PL sides

In that match, Flick’s side also struggled to progress the ball forward. 

Against Newcastle, Barcelona completed just 79 passes in the final third. For comparison, during a league match against Real Madrid earlier in the season, the team managed 176 passes in the attacking third.

The numbers were even worse in the defeat against Chelsea, where Barcelona recorded only 56 passes in that area.

Possession statistics also tell an interesting story. 

Barcelona usually dominate the ball in most matches, but their worst figure this season came against Chelsea with only 44% possession. Against Newcastle, the team had 54.26%.

Winning the ball… not anymore

Another aspect that Flick emphasises heavily is winning the ball high up the pitch and defending collectively. Yet that approach was not fully visible against Newcastle either.

Barcelona recovered just 41 balls during the match, which is among their lowest numbers this season. 

The only worse figure came again in the Chelsea game, where they recovered only 37.

All these numbers suggest that Barcelona were fortunate to leave St James’ Park with a draw. While the result keeps the tie open ahead of the return leg, the numbers paint a much more worrying picture.