Lionel Messi plays down Barcelona's blip ahead of Atletico Madrid Champions League quarter-final

Barça travel to the Vicente Calderon without a win in three games and on the back of consecutive league defeats

Messi has not scored in four consecutive games (Getty)

Lionel Messi has downplayed suggestions that Barcelona’s poor form could cause their season to fall off the rails.

The Catalan club go into Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid having lost back-to-back league games for the first time in eighteen months.

Barça take a slender 2-1 advantage to the Vicente Calderon, knowing that any kind of defeat will see them exit at the quarter-final stage to Atletico for the second time in three years.

“Our mindset remains the same,” Messi, who has not scored in four consecutive games, wrote in a Facebook post. “We work hard all year to have a chance of winning trophies at the end of the season. We continue to believe in ourselves.”

Luis Enrique’s side saw a 39-game unbeaten run ended in spectacular fashion by Real Madrid at the Nou Camp earlier this month, with Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing a late winner for Barça’s rivals.

The defeat came after a 2-2 draw with Villarreal and was followed by another reverse, as Real Sociedad claimed a slender 1-0 win over La Liga’s defending champions.

Barça’s lead at the top of the table has subsequently been cut from nine points to just three, with their Champions League opponents Atletico in second-place.

Diego Simeone’s side eliminated their Catalan rivals on their way to the tournament’s 2014 final with a 1-0 quarter-final second leg win at the Vicente Calderon. The same scoreline will see them progress on Wednesday.

“The game will only be won by scoring one goal more than them,” the former Argentina international said.

“We have to focus on what we need to do; I’m sure the fans will respond as they always do and we will be trying out on the pitch to make the semi-finals.”