Barcelona's Woodwork Curse: 25 La Liga Strikes and Counting
Barcelona have hit the post or bar 25 times in La Liga this season — more than any other top European side. Someone sort out their luck.
Barcelona are having a proper nightmare in front of goal — and it’s not just about missing chances. The woodwork itself seems to have it in for them.
The Numbers Are Genuinely Ridiculous
Barça have rattled the post or crossbar 25 times in La Liga alone across 24 matches this season. That’s more than one per game. Add in all competitions and the tally climbs to 32 strikes on the woodwork — a figure that’s somewhere between unlucky and genuinely cursed.
To put it in perspective, they lead the woodwork charts across all the major European leagues:
- Barcelona — 25 (La Liga)
- Manchester United — 18
- Inter Milan — 17
- RB Leipzig — 15
- Bayern Munich — 15
Yeah. Twenty-five. United fans are probably relieved to see someone else topping that particular table for once.
Who’s Clattering the Frame the Most?
Ferran Torres leads the unfortunate roll of honour with six woodwork hits to his name this season — which is both impressive and absolutely gutting. He’s been joined by Dani Olmo, Marcus Rashford, and Robert Lewandowski on the list of players who’ve watched the ball bounce back off the frame when it really shouldn’t have.
In the recent Monday night clash against Girona, both Raphinha and Lamine Yamal hit the woodwork — Yamal’s coming from the penalty spot, which is a particularly rough way to not score.
The match at Real Sociedad’s Anoeta was arguably the worst single game for this curse — Barça hit the post or bar four times in that one fixture alone.
Getting Close to Last Season’s Record
Here’s the mad thing — they’re nearly matching their own recent history. Last season, also under Hansi Flick, Barcelona hit the woodwork 26 times in La Liga. At 25 with games still to play, they’re on course to equal or surpass that.
For context, the numbers over recent campaigns:
- 2024-25: 26 woodwork hits
- 2023-24: 23
- 2022-23: 19
- 2021-22: 19
- 2020-21: 19
Something’s clearly changed under Flick — whether that’s the style of play, the volume of attempts, or just the most spectacular streak of bad luck in European football. Probably a bit of all three.
So What Does It Actually Mean?
In isolation, hitting the woodwork a lot can suggest a team is creating plenty of shots on target — glass half full and all that. But when you’re dropping points and the goals aren’t coming, 32 near-misses across all comps starts to feel less like bad luck and more like a structural problem. Barça need to start converting, because the woodwork isn’t going to start being kind to them any time soon.