Los 40 USA
Sign in to commentAPP
spainSPAINchileCHILEcolombiaCOLOMBIAusaUSAmexicoMEXICOlatin usaLATIN USAamericaAMERICA

Barcelona

Opta: Luis Enrique could outstrip Guardiola's Barça reign

After announcing he will leave at the end of the season, what do the stats say about Luis Enrique's time at Camp Nou compared to his predecessor?
Super Bowl 2018 live online: Patriots vs Eagles

Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola

Luis Enrique could leave Barcelona with a better LaLiga win percentage than Pep Guardiola – but only if he triumphs in 12 of his remaining 13 matches in the Camp Nou hot seat.

The former midfielder announced his Barca departure on Wednesday, confirming that he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Barca remain in the running for three pieces of silverware, which means Luis Enrique has a chance to add to the eight trophies he has already won for the Catalan giants, including two league titles.

But how does he measure up against his predecessors?

Full screen
FERNANDO ZUERASDiario AS

Tito on top for wins, Luis Enrique pushes Pep

It is actually the late Tito Vilanova who boasts the best win percentage of Barca's last four managers, leading his side to victory in 84.2 percent of matches as they won the title in his only season in charge.

But the battle for supremacy between Luis Enrique and Guardiola could go down to the wire.

Guardiola left Camp Nou having collected three top-flight crowns on the bounce and 116 victories from 152 matches at the helm gave him a win percentage of 76.3.

Luis Enrique stands on 75.2 per cent after 101 games in charge, but could reel in his former team-mate with 13 fixtures of the 2016-17 season remaining, including a Clásico against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

Eleven wins would pull the outgoing Barça boss level with Guardiola, while a 12th would be enough to edge him in front.

Gerardo Martino's stint ended with a LaLiga win percentage of 71.0.

Barça make chances count under Luis Enrique

Full screen
ALBERT GEAREUTERS

Guardiola's Barca side peppered the opposition goal with 7.24 shots on target per game, yielding an average of 2.71 goals, while Vilanova (6.32 shots on target, 3.03 goals) and Martino (7 shots on target, 2.63 goals) generated similar figures.

The Catalans have been somewhat more wayward under Luis Enrique – despite matching Guardiola's 16 shots per game, the team have only managed an average of 3.12 on target.

However, Luis Enrique's men have been far more economical when they have found the target, netting an average of 2.9 goals per game.

It helps when you have Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar to lead the line.

Full screen
Phil NobleREUTERS

Possession and passing a priority

Barca became known for passing opponents off the park under Guardiola and the team enjoyed 69.37 per cent of possession when coached by the current Manchester City boss, playing 654.07 passes per game with an accuracy of 87.91 per cent.

Vilanova's brief but successful tenure carried on that approach, having marginally more of the ball (69.44 per cent) and attempting more passes (746.5 per game) with increased precision (89.53 per cent).

Those figures tailed off slightly under Martino (68.13 per cent possession, 655.32 passes per game, 88.31 per cent accuracy), but the perceived demise of Barca's tiki-taka style is not entirely borne out by the stats of the Luis Enrique area.

Barca have continued to enjoy 68.04 per cent of possession, playing 648.13 passes per game with 87.27 per cent accuracy under Enrique.

Luis Enrique best at the back

One area where Luis Enrique does come out on top is in defence, with Barca conceding an average of 0.7 goals per game under his leadership.

That edges Guardiola, who comes in at 0.72, with Martino on 0.86 and Vilanova on 1.05

Follow the match LaLiga 2016/2017 date 26 : Barcelona –Celta.