Mourinho's record in danger: Flick's Barcelona threaten Real Madrid's throne
Will Yamal and Raphinha succeed in the mission?
Barcelona are continuing their thunderous start in the Spanish league, after achieving a perfect record in their first six matches, scoring 28 goals, putting them on track to break the historic record set by Real Madrid under their Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho during the 2011-2012 season.
According to Spanish newspaper "Sport", the Catalan side have found no real rival in La Liga so far. They have imposed their dominance on every team they have faced, home and away, racking up six straight wins.
Hansi Flick is no fan of records, as he made clear at a recent press conference. Even so, Barcelona are marching with steady steps towards breaking Real Madrid's historic mark.
Back in 2011-2012, Mourinho's Real Madrid set an unprecedented record in La Liga history. They scored 121 goals over 38 rounds, an average of 3.18 goals per match.
The Royal side reached 100 points for the first time in their history that year, thanks to the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 46 goals, alongside Gonzalo Higuain with a tally of 22 goals and Karim Benzema, who scored 21 goals.
Real Madrid lost only two league matches that season, 1-0 to Levante and 3-1 to Barcelona, having gone out of the UEFA Champions League in the semi-finals on penalties against Bayern Munich.
Despite breaking the goalscoring record in the domestic competition, the Royal side failed to find the net in two matches, against Racing and Valencia, and also drew with Malaga and Villarreal.
Their biggest victory of the season came at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, a 7-1 thrashing of Osasuna.
Fourteen years on, that record is under serious threat. Barcelona are delivering a fiery start under Hansi Flick, now in his third season with the Catalan side.
Flick's men have scored 28 goals in six matches, an average of 4.6 goals per game. They have hammered Elche 5-0, beaten Athletic Bilbao 2-0, put five past Rayo Vallecano in a 5-2 win, thrashed Valencia 5-0, seen off Levante 4-2 and demolished Racing 7-2.
Individually, Raphinha tops the La Liga scoring charts on nine goals. His hat-trick against the side from Cantabria took him to four trebles in a Barcelona shirt.
Close behind is a teammate. Lamine Yamal tried everything to score before he brought the goal festival to a close following a Maradona-like moment from Adeyemi.
The 19-year-old raised his tally to seven league goals, having found the net in four consecutive matches.
Next up, before the international break, Barcelona visit Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Flick's squad stumbled there last season, suffering a harsh 4-1 defeat.
The Catalan side want more than a perfect start to the campaign. They want to maintain the terrifying scoring rate that is causing concern across Europe, with Mourinho's Real Madrid record on the line.
