Barcelona’s La Liga season has been a roller coaster ride for the fans and the players. From being on the top to staying in the third spot, Barcelona has seen it all. There was a point this season when Barcelona fans declared the league race to be over after Real Madrid led the league by 10 points, but Barcelona did not give up and chased them down. Here is Barcelona’s improvement after matchdays.
From Matchday 1 to Matchday 12
From the start, Barcelona looked fierce maintaining a great winning streak. Barcelona only dropped 3 points in this period. The loss came against Osasuna with the score being 4-2 away from home. Hansi Flick misunderstood the opponent’s strengths which cost Barcelona early on.
This period of game was one of best performances we saw from Barcelona, both defensively and offensively. Barcelona started off their La Liga campaign with a 2-1 win over Valencia away from home. Then they secured 3 points against Athletic Bilbao and Raya Vallecano also with narrow 2-1 victories. The proper goal accounts opened for the Catalans against Real Valladolid, where Barcelona thrashed them with a 7-0 win.
Barcelona’s performances took a significant change and went into games with more confidence and character. Then they met Girona and Villareal, away from home where they secured two wins with score-line ending 4-1 and 5-1 respectively. Later Barcelona secured a narrow win over Getafe with the score-line being 1-0. Matchday 8 was the game where they suffered their first defeat of the season to Osasuna. Barcelona came back to winning games, claiming 12 points in the remaining four games against Alaves, Sevilla, Real Madrid, and Espanyol.
From Matchday 13 to Matchday 20
This was the first turning point of the season where Barcelona fans thought had choked the lead. Barcelona was in poor form during this period, giving away 18 points. Barcelona was in 3rd spot after losing crucial points against Celta, Atletico, and Leganes. This was a serious period of Barcelona’s season which made life harder for them. This was one of their poor displays this season. Barcelona suffered a defeat at Anoeta Stadium, against Sociedad. Later the Catalans dropped points against Celta, after choking a 2 goal lead.
Barcelona faced a surprising home defeat against Las Palmas. Barcelona returned to winning ways with a dominant performance against Mallorca with a 5-1 win. Barcelona once again dropped points against Betis with a 2-2 draw. Later they lost 2 consecutive home games against Leganes and Atletico. After the new year, Barcelona started off La Liga with another draw against Getafe.
From Matchday 21 to Matchday 32
This was the second turning point of the season, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona put their foot on the gas and regained their rhythm getting their wins. Barcelona only dropped 2 points in this period without any loss and is on top of the table with a 4 point lead. In this crucial period Barcelona found their winning rhythm and climbed back to top of the table with impressive performances. Barcelona delivered a dominant performance against Valencia with a score-line of 7-1. Later they secured a narrow 1-0 win against Alaves. Barcelona continued their winning streak with a convincing win over 4-1 Sevilla.
Barcelona maintained their streak with crucial wins against Rayo, Las Palmas, Sociedad, Atletico, Osasuna, and Girona. They dropped 2 points against Betis once again, but continued winning ways against Celta and Leganes. Barcelona have to maintain their form and need to see through the last six games of the season to win the league.
In my opinion, if Flick rotates squad in every game and maintains the winning streak there is no stopping for Barcelona. The only problem we are dealing with is fatigue and injuries, if every player performs well in the given opportunity we could end the season well. This is also an opportunity for players like Hector Fort, Fati, and Eric Garcia to prove themselves. This can be beneficial for their consistency and confidence which could help Barcelona for further seasons as well. Hansi Flick’s instructions and tactical approach being on point is another factor determining our faith this season.