3 Reasons why Barcelona have not gone past the UCL Quarterfinals since 2015

#2 Defensive Flaws

Pique has been the only consistent one

In the midst of all, one part of Barcelona has lingered behind in terms of effectiveness and reliability—defence. Barcelona have been flat, frail and disorganised and opponents have easily opened up their defence.

The last three seasons have clearly pointed out the defensive infidelities of arguably the best-attacking club in the world. The majority of problems in their defence being -

Right Back position:

The departure of Dani Alves has proved to be detrimental for Barca as ever since then the Blaugranas have failed to find a proper right-back to replace the Brazillian maestro. Barcelona tried playing Sergi Roberto, a midfielder in the fullback position but with very little success. Roberto’s runs, his close ball control and awareness are more suitable for the midfield. He has been poor defensively over the years which has made the task more difficult for the Barca centre-backs.

Centre Backs:

While Gerard Pique has been the soul of the defence, even he knows that he's not that agile and bold defender he used to be once. Barcelona has often left lots of space in their own half, which has allowed opponents to cause havoc. Since Puyol retired Barca have struggled to find a centre-back suitable to replace the Spaniard. Barca went with Samuel Umtitti but the linkage between Pique and the Frenchman has been really effeminate which has resulted in Barcelona conceding many goals. The defensive lapses were the primary reason behind Barca being dumped out of the UCL by Roma last year in the quarterfinals.