Barcelona Must Topple Europe's Best Defence to Continue Champions League Quest

Barcelona could be forgiven for letting out a groan when the name of their opponents in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final was pulled out of the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.

Atletico Madrid isn't the kindest of draws for the Blaugrana, and to put into perspective just how hard this tie will be to negotiate, Atleti have the meanest defence in Europe currently with just 12 goals conceded in La Liga.

It was, of course, at this stage of the competition two years ago when the Catalans went out. A 1-1 draw at Camp Nou was followed by a 1-0 victory for the hosts at the Vicente Calderon.

How Diego Simeone would love a repeat of such tight games.

Since the second leg of that particular last-eight game, however, the Rojiblancos haven't managed a win against Barca. A draw has been followed by six wins out of six for Luis Enrique and his side, per Fussball Wettpoint.

A strange quirk of Friday's draw was that it was alphabetical. It's entirely possible such a scenario has never happened before and certainly shows the balls were not given a proper mix before the draw took place.

It's a moot point now, of course, but a little odd, wouldn't you say?

In any event, if you want to be the best, then you have to beat the best, and if nothing else, should the Blaugrana triumph over the 180 minutes, it removes one of their biggest obstacles in becoming the first team in the modern era to lift the trophy in successive years.

Enrique will be hoping the games aren't so tight that it leads to a second-leg penalty shootout.

Atleti were ice-cold in their 8-7 penalty demolition of PSV Eindhoven in the last round, whereas Barca are still missing more than they score.

Indeed, all three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have failed to find the target from 12 yards at various times this season. It has become a real Achilles' heel for the club.

It's important for all three and their team-mates to try as hard as possible to put some daylight between themselves and their opponents before they travel to the capital.

If they can at least stop Atleti from scoring at the Camp Nou—no easy feat with Antoine Griezmann in such devastating form—then the advantage is with Barca for the second leg.

Simeone and Co. really need to hedge their bets a little. There is likely to be a temptation to go gung ho and try to secure a distinct first-leg advantage themselves, but as the Blaugrana have already shown on many occasions this season, woe betide any team that tries to play football against them.

Yes, Barca were the beneficiaries of Atleti's indiscipline in their last meeting, with Diego Godin and Filipe Luis sent off, but the truth is the Catalans were on a different level that day.

JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images

If anything, the pressure is all on Atleti. They have to find the combination to open a lock that has stayed firmly shut for 38 games now—and counting.

Somewhat unluckily for Barca, El Clasico against eternal rivals Real Madrid falls just three days before the first leg, and the punishing schedule the club have undertaken since the winter break could catch up with them at precisely the wrong time.

For example, the first leg will be Barca's 24th game of the year—no one in the top five leagues in Europe will have played more by that stage.

What we can at least be certain of are two utterly absorbing games of football between two teams of contrasting styles at the top of their game.

It's games like these that deserve to grace European football's premier competition.

Bring it on!