5 teams with the meanest defences in 2019 European club football competition

Bhargav
Barcelona
Barcelona

#4 Manchester United (9 conceded goals in 10 games; 0.9 conceded goals / game)

Manchester United
Manchester United

Manchester United qualified for the Round of 16 in the 2018-19 Champions League by finishing runners-up behind group winners Juventus.

In the first knockout round, United fell to a 2-0 home defeat to French champions Paris St. Germain in the first leg. However, the Red Devils won 3-1 in the return leg in Paris to book a quarterfinal with Barcelona, which they lost 0-4 on aggregate.

The Old Trafford club started their 2019-20 European season in the Europa League. After 4 consecutive clean sheets in the competition, United fell to a 1-2 defeat to Astana on Matchday 5.

That would mark the only goals conceded by the club in the group stage as they eased to a 4-0 home win over AZ Alkmaar to sign off their European commitments for the year on a winning note.

Despite their inconsistent form in all competitions during the last season and a half, United's tally of 50% clean sheets (5 out of 10) in Europe in 2019 is only bettered by two other clubs - Barcelona (7 out of 12; 58%) and Sevilla (6 out of 10; 60%).

#3 Juventus (9 conceded goals in 10 games; 0.9 conceded goals / game)

Cristiano Ronaldo excelled for Juventus in European games in 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo excelled for Juventus in European games in 2019

Qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2018-19 Champions League as group winners, Juventus fell to a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie. However, a record-equaling 8th hat-trick in the competition by Cristiano Ronaldo helped the Bianconeri run out 3-2 aggregate victors following a 3-0 win in the return leg.

In the quarter-finals against Ajax, despite Ronaldo providing a 2-1 aggregate lead in the second leg, two unanswered goals in Turin from the visitors eliminated Juventus from European contention for the season.

The record-8-time defending Serie A champions started their 2019-20 Champions League campaign with a 2-2 stalemate at Atletico Madrid. But five wins from as many games took them to the Round of 16 as group winners.

Like Manchester United, Juventus also conceded only 9 goals in 10 European games during the year. But owing to more wins registered during the year (6) as compared with their English counterparts (5), Juventus take the higher slot in this list.

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