With a dominant 4-0 victory over Real Madrid on Saturday, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona has matched the club's best scoring start of the 21st century, averaging 3.36 goals per game. 

According to BeSoccer Pro data for EFE, the Catalan team has only reached 47 goals at this point in the season once in the last 25 years—during the 2016-2017 campaign under Luis Enrique. Only in the 2012-2013 season, with Tito Vilanova as manager, did the team achieve twelve wins in its first fourteen games across all competitions.

Although there’s still a long season ahead, if Barça maintains its current scoring average of 3.36 goals per game, it would surpass the club’s record for the 21st century, set during the 2011-2012 season, Pep Guardiola’s last, with an average of 2.97 goals.

Five Consecutive Wins After El Sadar Defeat

Since Flick’s arrival, Barcelona has won eight games by three or more goals: Valladolid (7-0), Girona (4-1), Villarreal (5-1), Young Boys (5-0), Deportivo Alavés (3-0), Sevilla (5-1), Bayern Munich (4-1), and Real Madrid (4-0).

The last five wins were consecutive, in response to the 4-2 defeat on September 28 at El Sadar against Osasuna, in a match influenced by key absences and rotations made by the coach due to a packed schedule.

Lewandowski Nearing Career-High Numbers

In just one month, Barcelona has erased any doubts with a surge of goals, led by standout performances from Robert Lewandowski, who scored a brace against Madrid and now has 17 goals in 14 games. These numbers have only been exceeded once in his career when he scored 19 at the start of the 2019-2020 season.

The Polish striker leads Europe’s most effective trident alongside Raphael Dias 'Raphinha' (10 goals and 9 assists) and Lamine Yamal (6 goals and 7 assists), both of whom scored at the Santiago Bernabéu. Yamal’s goal was historic, as he became the youngest goal scorer in a clásico at 17 years and 105 days old.

An Offside-Provoking Machine

Barça’s success is collective, rooted in each player’s commitment to Flick’s bold, aggressive, and vertical playing style. A clear example is the defense, where the coordination between Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí, Íñigo Martínez, and Alejandro Balde left Real Madrid offside twelve times.

This isn’t an isolated case, as Barça entered the Bernabéu as the team in Europe’s major leagues forcing the most offsides per game (5.9). The team is defending higher, positioning itself better, recovering more balls in the opponent’s half, and attacking more effectively.

More Midfield Control

To achieve this, the midfielders play a crucial role. On Saturday, Pedri and Marc Casadó led the clásico in passes attempted. The Canary Islander completed 52 out of 59 passes and led Barça in ball recoveries (11), while the Catalan midfielder completed 49 out of 57 passes successfully, won the most ground duels (9), and assisted Lewandowski for the 0-1 goal.

The depth of the roster, thanks to recovering injured players and Flick’s knack for utilizing it, as shown in the second half with the inclusion of Frenkie de Jong for more control and Dani Olmo to break Madrid’s lines, were also decisive factors.

A Young Barça with the La Masia Stamp

Barça’s momentum is so strong that even goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, who arrived at the clásico under scrutiny, saved all four shots on goal, two of them difficult ones against Mbappé. His season average is 1.48 saves on 2.22 shots on target per game. 

This was achieved with a lineup that included six players under 22 years old: Balde, Cubarsí, Fermín, Casadó, Lamine Yamal, and Pedri. Except for Pedri, all were developed at La Masia. In total, the participation of homegrown players was even higher, as eight La Masia graduates featured in the game, with Iñaki Peña, Dani Olmo, and Gavi also taking part.