Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid preview: why Barca must be wary Atletico will have the last laugh

Barca lead 2-1 in the tie but travel to Vicente Calderon for the second leg

Luis Suarez celebrates his second goal against Atletico Madrid (Getty)

No team has yet retained the Champions League but 12 days ago it looked as if no-one would ever have a better chance than Barcelona. Running away with La Liga, inspired by the three best players in the world – who somehow made each other even better than they would otherwise be – they were threatening to do what even the great Pep Guardiola sides could not.

From the Club World Cup in Japan last December, to their 3-1 defeat of Arsenal last month, they won 22, drew two and lost none of 24 competitive games.

And yet somehow in the last few weeks the wheels of this juggernaut have come off. First Barcelona drew 2-2 at Villarreal, no drama in itself. Then they were beaten 2-1 at home by Real Madrid, a defeat that relaunched the title race. Then, on Saturday, they managed to lose 1-0 at mid-table Real Sociedad. One point from three games is their worst league run since May 2009, when Pep Guardiola’s side already had the title won and were preparing for their Champions League final with Manchester United.

Amid this bad run Barcelona hosted Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg. They were 1-0 down and short of answers when Fernando Torres was sent off. Although they turned the game around to win 2-1 it did nothing to stop the questions about whether this team has lost some of its edge.

Although Barcelona take the lead to the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night, 2-1 is the most even scoreline, and they will be wary of the fact that Atletico will play for a tight 1-0 win that will send them through.

It has escaped no-one’s attention in Spain that Luis Enrique’s Barcelona have won all seven of their games against Atletico, over this season and the last one. Atletico know how to make life difficult, but they do not know how to beat this Barcelona side, not quite yet.

But for the first time this season the destination of this year’s trophy feels open. Barcelona are still favourites, of course, but there will not be a procession.

The most obvious beneficiary of this Barcelona wobble ought to be Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. He is now in his last two months in Bavaria where he has been desperate to win the Champions League that would make his tenure there worthwhile.

Pep Guardiola makes a gesture form the touchline (PA)

Bayern have spent much of their time under Guardiola looking like the best team in Europe but twice they have been to the semi-finals of this competition and both times they were routed: by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 and Lionel Messi in 2015. If Atletico could eliminate Barcelona then Bayern would swiftly become favourites.

And yet this Bayern side, for all their technical skill and modern style, has never looked as secure in European knock-out games as they ought to. It took a remarkable turnaround for them to beat Juventus and on Wednesday night they go to Benfica needing to build on the 1-0 margin they won at the Allianz Arena. Their record in Champions League knock-out away legs is not good, in three seasons the only team they have beaten in a Champions League knock-out away game was Arsenal, back in February 2014. If they can just get through tonight, they could take advantage.