Barcelona 15-5 Real Madrid

“After the match against Atlético Madrid in December, I said: We played fantastically and if we perform like that, there’s a lot of things possible.” Eight matchdays on from that defeat to Los Rojiblancos, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick wasn’t surprised to regain LaLiga top spot on Sunday. But it’s been a meteoric rise.

Barça storm to top of LaLiga with huge Real Madrid points swing

Barça has returned to the summit with almost as much speed as they play the game. In the last five matchdays, they’ve enjoyed a 10-point swing over arch rivals Real Madrid. While Los Blancos lost at Espanyol and Real Betis, and drew against Osasuna and Atlético, the Blaugrana have regained their early-season form with victories against Alavés, Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Las Palmas and Real Sociedad. These weren’t flashy wins, but they were professional and competitive, a far cry from Barça’s worst moments of the season late last year.

Amid Barça’s surge and Madrid’s slump, Atlético has kept pace. They’ve only dropped points at the Bernabéu and against Celta Vigo, when Diego Simeone’s men played almost the entire match a man down. Currently, Atlético is Barça’s closest pursuer. They’re one point behind and will host Barça at the Metropolitano next week. Having triumphed 2-1 when the teams met at Montjuïc, Atlético is well placed to win their head-to-head with Barça. Against Madrid, however, Barça has as good as secured the tiebreaker, after a 4-0 win at the Bernabéu in October.

Atlético vs Barça and Barça vs Madrid still need to be played before a potential three-way tie could be resolved, but for now, Atleti is in the best position, having earned five points in direct clashes with their title rivals. Barça has three points, and Madrid has two.

Barcelona on potentially record-breaking pace

Just as Barça’s steep decline in November and December was surprising, no one at the Catalan club expected to regain the LaLiga lead at this stage, although the numbers speak highly of the team in all competitions. With 124 goals in 40 matches (an average of 3.1), the Blaugrana are on one of the best scoring trajectories in their history. With much of the season still to play, Barça has already netted more goals than in each of the last four seasons. Last term, they totaled 110, compared to 101 in the 2022/23 season. In 2021/22, they managed just 86. And in 2020/21, Lionel Messi’s last season at the club, they scored 122.

Now, with 12 LaLiga games still to play, plus a maximum of two in the Copa del Rey and seven in the Champions League, they have 124 goals. If Barça play all possible matches and maintain this projection, they would reach 189 goals, close to the 190 scored in the highest-scoring season in the club’s history: 2011/12, under Pep Guardiola.

Who do Barça still have to play in LaLiga?

Of Barça’s 12 remaining league games, seven are at home: their opponents will be Osasuna, Girona, Betis, Celta, Real Mallorca, Real Madrid and Villarreal. Away, Barça will face Atlético, Leganés, Valladolid, Espanyol and Athletic Club. It’s a demanding schedule, with two tough final away matches, in addition to the upcoming clash at the Metropolitano, and with matchups against Madrid and Villarreal as their last two home tests.

Article originally written in Spanish, before being translated with the assistance of AI, and edited by William Allen.

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