No time to catch a breath: Barcelona have a fearsome weapon ahead of the Atletico Madrid clash
The nightmare of the opening minutes
Barcelona's fans needn't wait long to celebrate this season. The Catalan side have developed a striking habit of hitting their opponents early, as if the opening minutes have become their favourite time to visit the net, before the opposition can even catch their breath.
Tomorrow, Barcelona travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for a heavyweight clash with hosts Atlético Madrid in the twelfth round of the Spanish league.
Spanish newspaper "Marca" revealed a striking statistic that captures the ferocity of those attacking starts. Barcelona have scored before the tenth minute in 8 of the 15 matches they have played this season, whether in the Spanish league or the Champions League.
The numbers carry a warning for anyone turning up late: you might miss the decisive moments. This is a team that has made a speciality of catching opponents cold from the opening whistle.
Their fastest goal this season came from Gordon, who found the net in the second minute against Getafe. Raphinha followed with a third-minute strike against Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Two more arrived in the fifth minute, scored by Lamine Yamal against Valencia at the Mestalla, and Xavi Espart against Levante at the Ciutat de València stadium.
The early surge did not stop there. Lamine Yamal stayed on the list with a seventh-minute goal in Tuesday's recent clash against Aston Villa in the Champions League.
In the eighth minute, Barcelona added two more to their early tally. Cancelo struck against Racing Santander, and Raphinha did likewise against Alavés.
As for the eighth goal, it carried Lamine Yamal's signature once again, the forward finding the net in the tenth minute at La Cartuja during the ninth round of the Spanish league.
Those numbers are not confined to the opening exchanges. Barcelona have also grown used to scoring in the first half of most of their matches this season.
Remarkably, only twice have the fans been forced to wait until the second half to see their team score: against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
More ironic still, those two clashes were also the only defeats the Catalan side have suffered this season, a sign of the trouble they ran into when they could not impose their attacking rhythm early.
As Barcelona brace for a tough test against Atlético Madrid, the start will be one of the keys to the clash. The hosts, after all, won't be in any mood to let their visitors catch them cold.
