Although many Barcelona fans will have been hoping for their side to make a quick start to this latest season in LaLiga, not many will have been expecting them to remain perfect through their opening six matches.
By Nathan Evans
Villarreal were their latest victims over the weekend as the Catalan giants ran out very comfortable 5-1 winners. It was another match in which young star Lamine Yamal stole the headlines and that’s even in spite of the sad news that starting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen suffered a serious injury that will keep him out of action for a lengthy period. This time the acclaim was mostly for Yamal’s exemplary assist, bending a 40-yard pass around the last defender with the outside of his foot to take his tally to three goals and five assists across his six league appearances.
To this point, the 17-year-old has been one of the big winners since Hansi Flick took over the managerial role, but he’s not the only one. The German manager has also worked wonders with Robert Lewandowski, a player who’s race many feared had been run towards the back end of last season, but who is now once again sitting pretty as the Spanish top-flight’s top scorer with six goals from six.
That tally has in turn helped Barca to net a league-leading 22 goals so far, six more than any other side, as they look to reclaim the Spanish top-flight title from fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Next up it’s another Madrid side on the menu for Barcelona, as Getafe make the long trip north-east to face the early pace setters and in truth, they could hardly arrive more ill-prepared for the task at hand.
That’s due to the fact that after their opening six matches this campaign, the visitors remain winless, with a 1-1 home draw against Leganés last time out further heaping the pressure on manager José ‘Pepe’ Bordalás. A return of four draws and two losses has additionally fuelled plenty of relegation talk, especially as that poor early season form has left them with just one win in their last 15 outings in LaLiga.
To say that’s likely to continue here would be an understatement, all things considered, especially as on top of that, Getafe hold a terrible recent head-to-head record against Barcelona. That’s because they’ve taken just one victory from their last 25 meetings with the Catalan giants, across all competitions, and with this exact fixture ending in a 4-0 defeat last season, there seems to be little hope for the away side on this latest visit to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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