Many expected Barcelona to contend in the UEFA Champions League this season, especially after romping to a domestic treble last term. The Blaugrana claimed La Liga, the Copa Del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup last season, beating archrivals Real Madrid four times in the process. They also reached the semifinals of the UCL, only to suffer a shock loss to Inter Milan after a late comeback in the San Siro.
This season, however, things aren’t going according to plan. Over in Spain, Barca remains the team to beat, but continentally, they are enduring a miserable run. They were beaten by an injury-riddled Paris Saint-Germain team missing all three of its fearsome frontline on matchday two. They then stumbled to a 3-3 draw against lowly Club Brugge on matchday four. However, their recent trip to Chelsea on matchday five has truly set alarm bells ringing.
Chelsea Destroy Sorry Barcelona at the Bridge
Barcelona and the Blues have enjoyed a storied continental rivalry over the years, with Stamford Bridge being a particularly troublesome place for the Catalonians to visit. With Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski leading the way this time, many thought that Hansi Flick’s side would take the fight to their hosts. Instead, what we witnessed was a one-sided beatdown.
Chelsea could have been two goals up inside 25 minutes after midfielder Enzo Fernandez saw not one but two goals ruled out by VAR. Then, on the half-hour mark, Barca defender Jules Kounde bundled into his own net to give the hosts a deserved 1-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Blaugrana captain Ronald Araujo was sent off for a second bookable offence, and from there on, there was only going to be one winner. Second-half strikes from new signings Estevao and Liam Delap secured the Blues a famous 3-0 victory, plunging Barcelona into further European trouble.
Barcelona now find themselves way down in 15th in the Champions League table and are just one point clear of the elimination zone. And not only are they plummeting down the standings, but they’re also dropping like flies in the betting charts as well. In the preseason, the Catalonians were considered a 5/1 joint favourite to win the tournament this season. However, now they are way out at 10/1, with a popular betting tool showing just how much those odds have drifted.
The popular betting calculator at Thunderpick allows punters to calculate parlay odds, and the tool shows that a $10 bet on Barcelona would have resulted before the season got underway. Now, that figure has doubled to $100, and Hansi Flick’s side is looking over its shoulder as opposed to down the road to the May 2026 final in Budapest.
But disastrous European results have become commonplace for Barcelona in recent times. Here are their three worst defeats in recent memory.
Bayern Munich 8-2 Barcelona
The global events of 2020 meant that the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League took place in front of no spectators in a mini-tournament in Lisbon, with knockout round ties played over one game as opposed to two legs. In the quarterfinals, Barcelona met Bayern Munich in a true clash of the giants. But with the eyes of the world watching on, locked in their living rooms, the Blaugrana unfolded spectacularly.
While a David Alaba own goal would cancel out Thomas Müller’s opener, from then on it was one-way traffic. A second from the German attacker, as well as goals from Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry, gave Bayern a stunning 4-1 halftime lead. Luis Suarez would pull a goal back in the second half, but then, the floodgates opened. Joshua Kimmich restored the three-goal advantage while a late flurry from Robert Lewandowski and Philippe Coutinho – a man on loan from Barca to Bayern no less – sealed a stunning 8-2 drubbing, Barcelona’s heaviest ever Champions League defeat.
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
The year before that Bayern drubbing, Barcelona seemingly had one foot in the final after Lionel Messi’s brace led them to a thumping 3-0 win against Liverpool in the Nou Camp in the first leg of the 2019 semifinals. Ahead of the return fixture at Anfield, it was announced that both Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, two-thirds of a devastating attacking trident alongside Sadio Mane, would both miss out with injury. As such, there was simply no way that the Reds could mount a comeback… or so we thought.
Stand-in striker Divock Origi gave Liverpool hope with his seventh-minute opener, but the hosts were unable to further reduce their aggregate arrears in the first half. At the half-time interval, Jurgen Klopp introduced Dutchman Gini Wijnaldum, and the box-to-box midfielder immediately rewarded his manager’s show of faith. The former Newcastle man bagged two goals in as many minutes on the hour mark to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead on the night and tie things up at 3-3 in the tie.
Then, with the game on a knife-edge, the Reds added a scarcely believable fourth. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quick corner kick caught the Barca defense napping, allowing Origi to slam home his second and take Liverpool through. The shocking collapse still stings Barcelona supporters to this day.
