A rocket launcher: The best Barcelona from outside the box in a decade Champions League - FC Barcelona Four goals so far

Despite having top players with great shooting attributes, Barcelona have long struggled to score goals from outside the box.

This is because the team is used to playing around the area and scoring from close range.

However, the Blaugrana regularly come up against very tight defences which don't leave gaps and that is when they need to look to set pieces and long-range shooting.

Ernesto Valverde is well aware of that and the team has made a considerable improvement in that area already this season.

Of the 20 goals scored in the six official games so far, four have come from outside the box.

Two have been free-kicks scored by Lionel Messi and the others were genuine missiles from Ousmane Dembele, against both Sevilla and PSV Eindhoven.

Those four goals make up 20 percent of the team's total.

In the last decade, Barcelona have never had such a high percentage and their best effort came from Pep Guardiola's side in the 2009/10 season with 17 percent, or 22 of the 128 goals scored in that campaign.

The figure went as low as 7.5 percent just three years ago in Luis Enrique's second year in charge.

Percentage of goals from outside the box

2018/19: 20% 2009/10: 17.2% 2012/13: 15.2% 2013/14: 14.8% 2008/09: 14.6%

The renewed effort in this area is clear and is improving as the weeks progress.

Against PSV, Barcelona attempted 10 shots from range, which is a very unusual amount and you have to go back four years to find a Champions League match with more - Atletico Madrid in 2014.

Long-range shots against PSV

Messi (3), Luis Suárez (2), Rakitic (2), Alba, Sergi Roberto y Dembélé (1)

With Valverde as coach, the team had previously struggled from distance.

Until January this year, only Messi had managed to score from outside the box, converting a free-kick.

In 2018, the team has already scored ten long rangers with Messi, Dembele and Philippe Coutinho leading the way.