Xavi Hernandez's return to Barcelona as coach indicated a return to the club's flowing possession game he thrived in as a player, but his team has instead relied on a watertight defence as they close in on the Spanish title.
Barcelona visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday as they bid to preserve or even extend their nine point lead on Real Madrid, who host Espanyol Saturday -- in their last league matches before the Clasico at Camp Nou on March 19.
The Catalans last lifted La Liga in 2019 and after heavy investment last summer, a need to produce instant results has influenced their approach.
Barcelona have conceded just eight goals in 24 matches so far this season, keeping 18 clean sheets in La Liga in that time. The latter is a better record than any other club in one of Europe's big five leagues has managed at the same point in the season in the 21st century.