For a large part of the 2010s, the latter stages of the Champions League was dominated by Spanish sides every year. From 2011 to 2018, eight of the 16 finalists were from Spain.
But since 2018, not a single Spanish side has made it to the final. Barcelona and Real Madrid have occupied only two of the 12 semifinal spots since then.
And this year, with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona giving a poor account of themselves in the group stage, the two giants are on the verge of making an embarrassing exit even before the knockout stages have begun.
With just one round of matches to go in the group stage, Real Madrid are the only La Liga side—there are five—that have confirmed a place in the round of 16.
Real are sitting pretty atop Group D with 12 points, two ahead of Inter Milan.
But it is Barcelona who are in trouble as they face Bayern Munich in a crucial clash on Wednesday night.
The Bavarians had beaten them summarily 3-0 in the first fixture of the group, and though Barcelona are in second place at the moment, a loss to Bayern and a win for Benfica over Dynamo Kyiv will result in them not making it to the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
The last time they did not make the knockout rounds, Pep Guardiola was their captain.
Barcelona will travel to Bavaria with faint hopes of qualifying, aware of Bayern's imperious form at home.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, have botched their entire European campaign this year. They have won just one of their five matches in a difficult group comprising of Liverpool, AC Milan and FC Porto.
Though Atletico are bottom of the group, they still have a chance to go through if Liverpool (15 points) beat Milan (4) and Atletico (4) beat Porto (5). It will be a difficult trip to Porto but the defending La Liga champions still have the firepower to scrape through into the next round.
In effect, only Liverpool has confirmed its passage to the next round from Group B, while the other three still have a chance.
Villareal, the 2021 Europa League champions, are second in Group H with seven points, but are in danger of losing that spot when they play third-placed Italian side Atalanta on Wednesday night.
And Sevilla, who are currently second in the Spanish domestic league, are in the only remaining group that is yet to confirm even one team in the next round.
Lille are on eight points, RB Salzburg on seven points, Sevilla on six and Wolfsburg on five. A win for Sevilla over Salzburg, will guarantee it a spot in the round of 16.
