FC Barcelona got another great win in La Liga last night as they decimated the high-flying Villarreal at their home, La Ceramica, with a 5-1 scoreline. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Pablo Torre were all on target, while the hosts saw up to three goals chalked off for offside.
The victory was a costly one for Barcelona, as they saw their goalkeeper, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, getting stretchered off the pitch due to a torn patellar tendon minutes before the half-time break. This issue can keep the German out for up to seven to eight months.
However, the Blaugranes got the all-important three points in the bag, and this victory also had a historical significance for the club. As Barcelona revealed on their official website, with this win, Hansi Flick has got his team to the joint third-best start to a La Liga season in the history of the club.
Flick is the sixth manager to get six wins from the first six games in La Liga. The first one to do so was the Englishman James Bellamy in only the second edition of La Liga in 1929-30. Only the legendary Johan Cruyff was able to match this feat in 1990-91.
Seven years later, another Barcelona coach, Louis van Gaal got six wins in his first six league matches. Pep Guardiola matched this feat in 2009-10, his second season in charge. His successor, Tito Vilanova, also kept a perfect record in the first six league matches in 2012-13.
Only two coaches have been able to have an even better record. One of them is Tata Martino, who got eight wins from the starting eight games back in 2013-14. Ernesto Valverde led his team to seven victories in seven opening league matches in 2017-18.
Thus, with a win over Getafe on Wednesday, Flick can match the record of Valverde. He can go on to reach Tata Martino, and even aim for a record-breaking nine wins in the first nine matches, with three more wins in La Liga.
