Barcelona Make History With Seven Straight Wins to Open Flick Era
Barcelona have made club history under Hansi Flick, winning their first seven competitive matches of the season for the first time. The La Liga champions have combined a perfect domestic start with Champions League success, setting a new standard after previous Barcelona sides had stopped at six consecutive opening wins in 1929-30, 1960-61 and 2018-19.
Record start powered by 33 goals
Flick’s team have torn through opponents in both competitions, scoring 33 times across those seven fixtures. Barcelona had never previously reached more than 30 goals at this stage of a campaign.
- A 5-1 win over Feyenoord added another emphatic European result.
- Barcelona then struck seven in a 7-2 league victory against Racing Santander.
- They have conceded only seven goals during the unbeaten opening run.
- Athletic Club, Valencia and Elche are among the teams beaten during the streak.
Their front-foot approach has repeatedly settled matches early. Barcelona have scored first in six of the seven games, with Rayo Vallecano the only opponent to take the lead before Flick’s side responded.
Raphinha leads Flick’s new-look attack
Raphinha has become Barcelona’s key attacking figure while operating as a false nine. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick against Racing Santander, converting two penalties, to take his total to 11 goals in all competitions.
- The 29-year-old has scored in six of his seven appearances.
- He has nine goals from his first six La Liga matches.
- That is the best such opening by a Barcelona player since Lionel Messi in 2017-18.
- Only Messi and Ronaldo Nazario have also managed at least nine goals in Barcelona’s first seven games over the past 60 years.
- Raphinha is two goals ahead of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe in the early Pichichi race.
His contribution has extended beyond finishing. In the win over Levante, Raphinha did not score but supplied two important assists as Barcelona continued their winning sequence.
Sevilla away is next
Barcelona now head to Andalusia on Saturday for a meeting with Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Flick’s side will need to preserve the same aggressive intensity in one of Spain’s tougher away venues if they are to stretch their unprecedented run to eight wins.
