Barcelona enter the three-week international pause with a rare kind of certainty around the city: Hansi Flick’s side have won every match they have played, built a six-point Liga advantage over Real Madrid and turned their opening weeks into the most prolific league start the club has ever recorded. The champions have 31 goals from seven domestic fixtures, while their stated ambition for the season is clear — the Champions League.
The news from the club
Flick’s Barcelona, in the coach’s third season, are alone among European clubs in having a perfect record across all competitions. Seven Liga victories have been followed by a 5-1 Champions League opening win against Feyenoord.
Barcelona sit six points ahead of Real Madrid after seven rounds, with Atlético Madrid five points behind in second place. The club have previously gone on to win the title on every occasion they held a six-point lead over Madrid at this stage of a Liga campaign.
The attacking numbers have been exceptional. Raphinha has scored 12 league goals and two in Europe, while Lamine Yamal has seven Liga goals plus one in the Champions League. Only Athletic Club, beaten 2-0, and Sevilla, defeated 3-1, have avoided conceding at least four goals to Barcelona.
The 31-goal total works out at 4.42 per league game, a new record for the first seven matchdays. Barcelona’s 1950-51 team had previously set the club benchmark with 29 goals over that span. Real Madrid have scored 18 in comparison, a little above half of Barcelona’s output, after a summer in which Florentino Pérez spent €225 million.
Barcelona were unable to recruit the centre-forward they sought to fill the space left by Robert Lewandowski, yet the front line has continued to overwhelm opponents. Their pace contrasts with other major European sides: Manchester City have five domestic wins and Borussia Dortmund four, but both began their seasons with defeats — City losing 3-0 to Arsenal in the Community Shield and Dortmund falling 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup. City later won 2-0 at Porto in Europe and Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2.
Elsewhere, Manchester City’s 5-3 win over Sunderland lifted their league scoring average to 2.6 goals per game. Paris Saint-Germain are sixth in Ligue 1, five points behind Monaco, and have managed one goal per match across eight games. Bayern Munich are averaging only 1.4 goals per Bundesliga fixture.
A demanding route after the pause
The break interrupts Barcelona before a heavy stretch of travel and high-profile opponents. Their forthcoming itinerary includes away matches against Galatasaray, Real Betis and Paris Saint-Germain, followed by a home Clásico against Real Madrid, Aston Villa’s visit to Barcelona and a trip to Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano, where the atmosphere is expected to be particularly charged amid the Julián case.
The immediate concern is the usual risk of international absences or injuries, but Barcelona return with a chance to match the best opening in their history. That mark belongs to Gerardo Martino’s 2013-14 side. Getafe are next, arriving at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday the 10th at 18:30, with October beginning under intense expectations.
