Barça’s autumn has been almost sensational, and the big club can already tick off a couple of records.
Eight straight wins in the opening round of La Liga equal the club’s league record from the 2013–14 season.
Add the victory against Feyenoord in the Champions League, and Barcelona have started the season with nine straight wins - something that has never happened before in the club’s 127-year history.
"The statistics speak for themselves. We are in a good period and we are enjoying it," defender Jules Koundé says, according to La Vanguardia.
Scored 39 goals
We haven’t even mentioned how the team has played in those wins. There have been no last-gasp winners to explain the record-breaking start. Barcelona have swept aside one opponent after another, with a goal difference of 39-8 across the nine matches.
In five of the last six wins, Barcelona have taken no more than eight minutes to break the deadlock.
Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old shining brightest in the star-studded squad, has scored eight goals so far but is still overshadowed by Raphinha’s 12. With the injured Brazilian out this weekend, compatriot Gabriel Jesus scored one of the goals in his first start as Barcelona beat Getafe 3-0.
The important thing is that everyone accepts being a substitute sometimes. The strength of a team that wants to win important titles is to have many high-level footballers, says successful German coach Hansi Flick, according to El Mundo.
Galatasaray next
Flick will have to do without Raphinha against Galatasaray on Tuesday evening, but Barcelona’s Champions League squad travelling to Istanbul includes both Lamine Yamal and the world’s best midfielder, Rodri, who joined from Manchester City in August.
Real Betis are next, away on Saturday, when Barcelona can match Real Madrid’s record of nine wins from the opening matches of the Spanish league, set in autumn 1968. Next week, Barça will face an even sterner test - away against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and at home against Real Madrid in "El Clásico".
Barcelona’s status as favourites in both the Champions League and La Liga is unlikely to diminish if the winning streak lasts for another two weeks.
Elche (away), 5–0.
Athletic Bilbao (home), 2–0.
Rayo Vallecano (home), 5–2.
Valencia (away), 5–0.
Feyenoord (home), 5–1.
Levante (away), 4–2.
Racing Santander (home), 7–2.
Sevilla (away), 3–1.
Getafe (home), 3–0.
