Barcelona close to Real Madrid records after perfect start under Hansi Flick

Barcelona can match the best opening to a La Liga season in the club’s history if they beat Getafe at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday.

Hansi Flick’s side have won each of their first seven league matches and are setting the pace with 21 points from a possible 21. They are already six points clear of Real Madrid.

A victory over Getafe would equal the record set by Tata Martino’s Barcelona during the 2013-14 campaign, when the team also won its first eight matches. That run ended in the ninth round after Osasuna held Barcelona to a goalless draw.

Barcelona remained unbeaten until the 14th round that season, before losing 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao in the 15th round at San Mames. They finished the campaign with 87 points, well short of the 100-point total achieved the previous season under Tito Vilanova.

Atletico Madrid have also opened a campaign with eight successive victories. Diego Simeone’s side went on to win the title on the final day at Barcelona’s stadium after drawing with the Catalan club.

Real Madrid recorded eight straight wins at the start of the 1961-62 and 1987-88 seasons. The club also holds the outright record for the longest unbeaten opening, with Miguel Munoz’s side avoiding defeat in their first nine matches of the 1968-69 campaign.

Real Madrid lost their first points in the 10th round after drawing with Pontevedra. That came after they had beaten Barcelona in El Clasico at Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona’s current run has attracted particular attention because Porto are the only team in the Portuguese league to have collected a maximum 21 points after seven rounds as well.

Flick’s team have also been prolific in front of goal. They have scored 31 times – almost four goals per match – which is the highest total Barcelona have recorded at this stage of a season. Their previous best was 29 goals in 1950-51.

Apart from Athletic Bilbao, who conceded only twice, Barcelona have won almost every match by a clear margin. They scored seven against Racing Santander, five against Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia, four against Levante, and three against Sevilla.

Last season, Barcelona’s winning start ended with a draw against Rayo Vallecano in the third round, following victories over Real Mallorca and Levante. The previous season, their league winning run also stopped at seven matches, with Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano, Real Valladolid, Girona, Villarreal and Getafe beaten before a defeat by Osasuna in the eighth game. Barcelona used an experimental line-up for that match, with several regular starters absent.

If Barcelona defeat Getafe, who have never won away to them, they will extend their home winning run to 23 matches. That would place them among the five best runs in Spanish football and leave them one victory short of Real Madrid’s record of 24 consecutive home wins, achieved in 1988-89 and 1989-90.