Stunning start: Barcelona torment their rivals with a 700-pass weapon

A press report on Monday sang the praises of Barcelona's performances this season, particularly in terms of ball possession.

The newspaper "Marca" reported that Barcelona are producing a stunning start to the campaign on all fronts. The Blaugrana are dominating possession and showing remarkable patience in attack, knocking the ball around smoothly as they hunt for gaps.

The numbers back it up. They completed more than 700 passes in each of their last three matches against Valencia, Feyenoord and Levante.

Against Valencia, Barcelona completed 728 passes. In their Champions League opener against Feyenoord, they racked up 746.

At the Ciutat de València stadium, the tally stayed close, with Barcelona completing 711 passes.

Levante barely touched the ball in the opening five minutes, before Pablo Torre's goal, while Barcelona circulated possession in stunning fashion.

Earlier in the season the picture looked different. Barcelona managed 463 passes against Elche, 560 against Athletic Bilbao and 585 against Rayo Vallecano.

The last three matches have brought a sharper passing game. We will see whether they can maintain this momentum against Racing Santander on Wednesday.

At the Ciutat de València stadium, Barcelona recorded their highest possession figure of the season. The Catalan side hit 75%, beating the 74% they managed at the Valencia stadium and the 72% they posted in the Champions League against Feyenoord. The numbers from the last three games point in one direction: Barcelona are on the rise at the start of this season.