Flick’s Barcelona setting milestones in attack to stay in contention in all competitions

By: Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press Posted: 11:22 AM CST Monday, Jan. 27, 2025

It's raining goals for Barcelona.

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It's raining goals for Barcelona.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2025 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s raining goals for Barcelona.

There were five against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, five more against Benfica in the Champions League, and most recently seven — four in the first 24 minutes — in a trouncing of Valencia in La Liga.

Not even when Barcelona flaunted the “MSN” attack of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar did the club put up such impressive numbers.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Valencia at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal form the latest forwards thriving up front, and Hansi Flick’s team has been setting milestones to be able to stay in contention in all competitions this season.

Flick became the second-fastest Barcelona coach to reach 100 goals on Sunday after the 7-1 rout of Valencia. The club has 101 goals in 32 games in all competitions under the German coach. Helenio Herrera reached the mark in 31 matches in the late 1950s. Luis Enrique and Tito Vilanova each needed 34 games, three quicker than Pep Guardiola at 37.

“I love the hunger my team has and how they show it. The game did not stop at 2-0 or 3-0, we fought on until the end, that is what I like about my players,” Flick said. “What we want is to put on a performance and win trophies, that is what matters.”

Crushing Valencia marked the fourth time in the last five games in which Barcelona scored at least five times. It was coming off a 5-4 comeback win over Benfica in the Champions League, after routing Real Betis 5-1 in the Copa and Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Barcelona has two of the top three highest goal-scorers in the top five European leagues, with Lewandowski leading the way with 29, five more than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and six more than teammate Raphinha.

“It’s a great situation and great news to see so many quality players, that is what we need and that’s what makes us good,” Flick said. “We have a great team and you can see that. The atmosphere is really good and we are doing a great job.”

Barcelona hadn’t scored four times in the first 24 minutes of a match since 2008 against Almeria at Camp Nou. The last time the Catalan club scored five in a first half was in 2015 against Getafe.

In La Liga, Barcelona has 59 goals in 21 matches, nine goals more than the second best scoring team — Kylian Mbappé’s Madrid. In the Champions League, Barcelona has 26 goals in seven matches, seven more than the second-best scoring team — Borussia Dortmund.

Barcelona has secured a place in the Champions League last 16, and the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. Barcelona sits third in La Liga, seven points behind leader Madrid.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer