With the hard-fought away win against Betis (1-2), Barça closed the first round of the League with 50 points, a figure that transports the blaugrana fan to times of glory, when titles were the bread of the day, of each season. The score achieved by Xavi Hernández’s pupils in the middle of the competition had only been reached by the Barcelona fans five times in their history, with the current six, and in four they sang the alirón.
Pep Guardiola was the first to lead the team to those figures in his first season, 2008-09, that of the famous ‘sextet’. The team led by the man from Santpedor reached 49 points the following year and in the 2010-11 academic year, Barça surpassed themselves with 52 points when 19 games had been played.
The score was even higher with Tito Vilanova in the band in the 2012-13 season. At the controls of the Catalan coach, the blaugrana signed the best first round in their history. They achieved 55 points after giving up just one draw, against Real Madrid (2-2). Barça won the League with their best score, a total of 100 points.
The following season, 2013-14 with Tata Martino on the bench, the good dynamics in the first part of the domestic competition continued, with 50 points and leaders, but the outcome was not as expected for the Catalans. The Barcelona fans drew on the last day against Atlético at the Camp Nou (1-1) and handed over the title to the colchoneros.
Barça did not achieve 50 points again in the first round until the 2017-18 season under coach Ernesto Valverde, who was the architect of the last two Leagues won by the Blaugrana (they were also champions in the 2018-19 season). After the dismissal of Txingurri, in the middle of the 2019-20 season with the leading team, the club began a descent into hell during the following years in the regularity tournament.
Quique Setién was unable to certify the good work of his predecessor in the second part of the pandemic season. The Spaniard was fired, and Ronald Koeman took over at the start of the 2020-21 season. The changes in the team, with the departure of important players and the entry of inexperienced youngsters, caused the Catalan team to drop its rate of points, third in the standings with only 37 points after 19 games.
However, the team hit bottom in the 2021-22 season, when first with Koeman and then with Xavi, Barça finished the first leg in seventh position with only 28 points. Reinforced with several signings in winter, the Terrassa coach turned the situation around in the second part of the season with 45 points and climbed to second position, even dreaming of the title.
Those green shoots have been confirmed this course. Barça is the solid leader in the League with 50 points after a first round in which they have only conceded two draws, against Rayo and Espanyol, and a defeat at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid (3-1). In addition, it is the highest scoring team in the championship (39) and the least scored with only 7 goals, a record for the Catalans since 20 teams have competed. Now, the Catalans must certify this good start in the second part to certify that the New Era resembles the glory years of yesteryear.
Check the Santander League table.
Consult all the results of Barça in the Santander League.
