World Soccer—Hansi Flick’s Barcelona keeps breaking records. According to a report by SI.com, with their 5-2 victory over Betis at La Cartuja, the Catalans won their first nine LaLiga matches and became only the second team in the tournament’s history to achieve this feat: the only previous instance was Real Madrid during the 1968–69 season, 58 years ago.
The record is staggering. According to Mister Chip statistics cited in the report, Barcelona has earned 27 points out of a possible 27, with 39 goals scored and only 9 conceded, for a goal difference of +30 that is also historic: it ties Real Madrid’s +30 from the 1987–88 season as the best goal difference after nine matchdays. Only Sevilla in the 1940–41 season, with 42 goals, has scored more than Barcelona’s 39 in a league start.
But the feat extends beyond the league. The win in Seville was the team’s twelfth consecutive victory across all competitions, a streak that matches a record that had stood untouched for 102 years: in the 1923–24 season, the club strung together 13 straight wins across the Catalan Championship and the Spanish Championship. No Barça team had won its first 12 official matches since the creation of LaLiga in 1929, and Flick’s team has already surpassed the start made by Gerardo Martino’s Barcelona in 2013–14.
The timing couldn’t be sweeter for the Culé fans, though the schedule offers no respite. This very week, the team visits PSG in the Champions League, and next Sunday, October 25, the Clásico against Real Madrid takes place at Camp Nou, with the top spot and the team’s unbeaten streak on the line. If Flick’s team wins, they would set a new all-time club record.
What this Barcelona team is doing—beyond the numbers—is playing a dominant brand of soccer that inspires: effectiveness in the opponent’s box, sustained intensity, and a roster that delivers even with key players out. The 1968 record is now shared history; now they’re out to make it their own.
