BARÇA REMAINS UNBEATEN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The brutal data that confirms FC Barcelona as the main candidate to win LaLiga
Published:7/09/2024 - 21:45h
Updated:8/09/2024 - 05:28h
Barça have won four of their first four LaLiga games. Of the last 11 times they have started the Spanish league in this way, they have ended up winning nine of them, so Flick is aiming to maintain the streak
FC Barcelona hope to return to winning ways under the guidance of Hansi Flick. The arrival of the German coach has renewed the hopes of Barcelona fans, who have witnessed the great level shown by the team at the start of the 2024-2025 season. Under the command of the German, the Barça squad remains undefeated in the league championship, adding four victories in its first four games in the tournament and being the only club with a full record of victories.
Today, the Catalan team leads the Spanish competition alone with 12 points, four more than the second in the table, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid. The perfect start of the Catalans excites the Barça fans and the squad itself, since in the last 11 occasions in which the team has started LaLiga in this way, it ended up taking the title in 9 of them. On both occasions when they failed to achieve their goal, it was Atlético de Madrid who were crowned champions.
The first antecedents
1984/85 season: Champions
The first time this happened to the Catalans was in the 1984/85 season, when Terry Venables' Barcelona won the title after winning their first four games against Real Madrid (0-3), Zaragoza (4-0), Espanyol (1-0) and Betis (1-2). In that League, the club's record was 21 wins, 11 draws and 2 losses in 34 games played in LaLiga, with Steve Archibald as the top scorer in the local tournament with 15 goals.
1990/91 season: Champions
Later, in the 1990/91 season, this event took place again. This time under the direction of Johan Cruyff, who won the first four matches against Espanyol (0-1), Valencia (3-1), Betis (2-3) and Valladolid (1-0). In 38 matches played they achieved 25 victories, 7 draws and 6 defeats. Hristo Stoichkov was the one who scored the most goals in the league for the culé team with a total of 14 goals.
1997/98 season: Champions
In the 1997/98 campaign, Barcelona won the Spanish local league again after beating Real Sociedad (3-0), Valencia (0-3), Deportivo de la Coruña (2-1) and Sporting (1-4) in the first four matches. Louis van Gaal was in charge of the club and also won the Copa del Rey and the European Super Cup. Record of 23 wins, 5 draws and 10 losses in 38 LaLiga games with Rivaldo being the league's top scorer with 19 goals.
The supremacy of the 'Messi era'
2009/10 season: Champions
Twelve years later, this time with Lionel Messi consecrated as the best player in the world, the Catalans repeated the feat. Pep Guardiola's Barça won their first four games of the season against Sporting (3-0), Getafe (0-2), Atlético de Madrid (5-2) and Racing (1-4). This year, the Catalans won LaLiga, the Spanish and European Super Cups and the Club World Cup, registering a record in the local tournament of 31 wins, 6 draws and only 1 loss in 38 games. The top scorer was the Rosario native, with 34 goals.
2012/13 season: Champions
Just three years later, the Blaugrana team beat Real Sociedad (5-1), Osasuna (1-2), Valencia (1-0) and Getafe (0-4) in the first four rounds of the national competition. A special season, since it was the first post-Guardiola and Tito Vilanova was in charge of the team, which had in its ranks a monumental Lionel Messi who scored 46 goals in LaLiga. In that season, the Catalans won 32, drew 4 and lost 2 in the 38 matches of the Spanish local tournament.
2013/14 season: Second place
In the following campaign, Barça enjoyed the best start in its history. Under the orders of a newcomer Gerardo 'El Tata' Martino, the Catalans won their first eight matches of the season. The first four were victories of 7-0 against Levante, 0-1 against Malaga, 2-3 against Valencia and 3-2 against Sevilla. However, they failed to take the title and had to settle for second place after losing to Atletico Madrid on the last day.
2014/15 season: Champions
In Luis Enrique's first season in charge of Barcelona, the Catalans also won all their matches in the first four games of the season, beating Elche 3-0, Villarreal 0-1, Athletic Club 2-0 and beating Levante 5-0. Messi scored 43 goals in La Liga and the Catalans took the trophy with 30 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, completing the trident after being crowned champions in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
2015/16 Season: Champions
For the fourth consecutive season, the Catalans started by winning at least 4 of their first league games, defending the league title and the Copa del Rey. They also won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup. Luis Suárez was the one who contributed the most goals in the tournament with 40 and the first victories were against Athletic (0-1), Málaga (1-0), Atlético de Madrid (1-2) and Levante (4-1).
2017/18 Season: Champions
Ernesto Valverde joined the group of coaches who won the league title with four consecutive victories in the first matches of the campaign after defeating Betis (2-0), Deportivo Alavés (0-2), Espanyol (5-0) and Getafe (1-2). At the end of the season, Barça had 28 wins, 9 draws and 1 loss in 38 games, with Messi being the top scorer with 34 goals. They also won the Copa del Rey.
2018/19 season: Champions
Valverde achieved the 'back to back' after starting the campaign with victories against Deportivo Alavés (3-0), Valladolid (0-1), Huesca (8-2) and Real Sociedad (0-1). Messi scored 36 goals and the record in LaLiga was 26 wins, 9 draws and 3 losses. The Blaugrana squad also won the Spanish Super Cup this season.
2020/21 season: Third place
Finally, Ronald Koeman completes the list after starting the local tournament on the right foot, beating Elche 3-0, Athletic 2-3, a 4-0 thrashing of Villarreal and a 0-3 victory over Celta. Messi, in his last year as a culé, scored 30 goals in the championship, but the decline experienced throughout the season, despite winning the Copa del Rey, ended with Barça placed third and Atlético de Madrid lifting the trophy. The team's final record was 24 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses in 38 games.