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Luis Enrique's side saw their 39-game unbeaten run ended by their rivals on Saturday, and Los Blancos now perhaps pose the largest threat to their hopes of another triple triumph.
Barcelona had to be beaten sooner or later. Defeat in the Clasico to their eternal enemy Real Madrid will hurt the players, the fans and everyone else at the Catalan club, but it may not be such a bad thing after all.
La Liga is unlikely to be lost by Barca. With seven games remaining, Luis Enrique's men lead the Primera Division by six points from Atletico and seven from Real - and it is effectively seven and eight respectively because the Blaugrana boast the better goal average from games played with those two in the event of a tie.
So as painful as it will have been, better to lose the Clasico than the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla next month or a crunch Champions League knockout game like the one against Atletico at Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
That is the only thing on Barca's mind now, and having won all six games against Atletico since Luis Enrique's arrival as coach, the Catalans will approach the tie with confidence - albeit with caution after defeat on Saturday.
"This match doesn't exist anymore," Luis Enrique said after the defeat to Real. "There is no pain or anything. We have come from a run in which we weren't beaten for a long time, but this shows you that all the titles are difficult and the players know that."
It was the right message. The Asturian coach will be concerned in particular at his side's sloppy defending in the Clasico and also by tired performances from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez after the recent international break.
But Barca remain the best side in Europe. Treble winners last season, world champions and Liga leaders, this team need not worry too much about one defeat that will hurt their pride but which matters little in the grand scheme of things.
What it will do, however, is serve as motivation ahead of the important tests that lie ahead. After 39 games without a defeat, Saturday's loss could prove to be more a blessing than a burden. It is a welcome wake-up call.
"What is left is very important," Luis Enrique said. "We have to reinforce what we have done well and improve what we can do better."
And goalscorer Gerard Pique said: "The important thing now is not to drop off or fall into a dip of form. We are in a unique position and we have to keep going."
Pique and Luis Enrique will face the media on Monday in preparation for the Catalans' Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atletico, and there is no time to dwell on Saturday's Clasico defeat.
Given all that they have achieved in recent seasons, this team will be expected to react as champions do when they face Diego Simeone's side on Tuesday, and there is no reason to believe the Catalans cannot put their disappointment behind them and go on to claim a second successive treble.
La Liga is all but sewn up, while Sevilla await in the final of the Copa del Rey. So the Champions League represents the most difficult of the three titles now - and no side in the modern era has ever retained Europe's premier club crown since the competition changed format in 1992-93. Barca, however, remain favourites to win it this term.
Ahead of the draw in Nyon last month, Catalan paper Sport published a front page which read: "We want Real Madrid" - in the belief that Zinedine Zidane's side (who meet Wolfsburg in the last eight) were there for the taking due to their poor performances in the big games this season.
But nobody will think that now. Madrid proved on Saturday that they are a match for anyone when they get it right, and with both teams expected to advance to the Champions League semi-finals, Los Blancos now look like the biggest threat to Barca's pursuit of another treble triumph.
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