Xavi Hernández’s Barça regained their eight-point advantage at the head of the League this Sunday with a victory against Cádiz (2-0) where the script of practically the entire season was repeated: intensity, defensive strength and biting up front, Above all embodied in Robert Lewandowski, pichichi of the competition with 15 goals. The Catalans have 59 points in 22 games, numbers that only Napoli match.
The Blaugrana team has only given up two draws and one defeat, the same as the Neapolitan team. The Serie A leader has scored the most goals, a total of 56 to the 45 for Barcelona, ??but has conceded more goals against in 23 games. Napoli, whose only defeat was at Inter on January 4 (1-0), have scored 15 goals, while Barça have only conceded 7, a figure that at this point in the season they had not achieved no team in the history of the Spanish League.
Xavi’s pupils have kept a clean sheet in 17 games in the domestic competition thanks to the defensive performance of Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé and the safety of Marc André Ter Stegen, who has recovered his best version after some affected seasons due to knee problems.
The only defeat of the Blaugrana in the League dates from October 16, 2022 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu (3-1). Since then, Barça has garnered 12 victories and one draw, on December 31 against Espanyol at the Camp Nou, where Joselu scored from a penalty in the final stretch of the match (1-1). Barça’s streak cannot be compared with any other team in the best leagues, not even with Napoli. In addition, Spalletti’s men suffered a major setback recently when they were eliminated in the Coppa against Cremonese, bottom team in Serie A.
Outside of the Santander League and beyond Napoli, no major league team is having such a good season. Arsenal, leader of the Premier League that until a few days ago had the same records as the Catalans, has given up two defeats in its last games, against Everton (1-0) and Manchester City (1-3), and a tie, against Brentford (1-1).
As for the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich has reached the lead in recent days after a start where the surprising Union Berlin rose to first position. The team from the capital is third with the same points as those from Munich and Borussia Dortmund, second place. The Bavarians, more irregular than in previous seasons, have given up seven draws and have suffered two defeats, the last one last day against Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-2).
In the French Ligue 1, PSG occupy first place although they have shown clear signs of weakness recently. The Parisians, with a record of 18 wins, three draws and three losses, achieved victory in extremis this Sunday. Messi broke the tables against Lille with a masterful free-kick in the 95th minute (4-3).
Outside the big leagues on the continent, Benfica’s season in Portugal stands out, which, like Barça and Napoli, has also only drawn two and lost one. All of them have laid the foundations to lift the league title this season and now they will have to face a final stage where the pressure and physical wear and tear tend to cause more defeats, to tarnish statistics that up to now are bordering on honors.
Check the Santander League table.
Check the standings for the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
