Mourinho beware! Flick's Barcelona threaten to shatter a miraculous Clasico record
Real Madrid in danger
Barcelona have edged closer to a new chapter in La Liga history. Hansi Flick's side matched the best start the competition has ever seen, nine straight wins from their opening nine matches, after thumping Real Betis 5-2 at La Cartuja on Saturday. The Clasico against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou now offers them the chance to set an unprecedented mark: 10 wins from the first 10 rounds.
Real Madrid's class of 1968-69 managed the same nine-match streak, but the Catalans hold the edge in front of goal. They have scored 39 goals in nine matches. Madrid managed 21 over the same stretch that season.
That puts enormous weight on the Clasico. Beat their oldest rivals and Barcelona break a record that has stood for more than five decades, claiming the finest start in La Liga history.
Flick surpasses the achievements of Tata Martino and Valverde
This Barcelona side have already outstripped their recent predecessors. Tata Martino's team opened the 2013-2014 campaign with eight consecutive wins before a goalless draw against Osasuna in round nine ended the run.
Ernesto Valverde managed seven in a row at the start of 2017-2018 until Atletico Madrid held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in the eighth round. Flick's players have gone past both.
13 players share Barcelona's goals
Numbers tell the rest of the story. Barcelona have racked up 39 goals in nine league matches, an average of 4.33 per game, and the threat comes from everywhere.
Add nine goals in two Champions League outings and the tally climbs to 48 in 11 matches across both competitions, close to 4.36 a game.
Thirteen different players have found the net, proof that this team do not lean on one man. Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia and Rodri all joined the list after the Betis game.
Remember the criticism about Barcelona needing an out-and-out striker? Flick's team are answering it with output that closes in on figures from the 1926-1927 season, when the club scored 47 goals in their first 10 matches
