THE Blaugrana have clinched the LaLiga Santander title with four rounds to spare, and there are several explanations for their stellar season.
FC Barcelona has already been crowned as LaLiga Santander champions, mathematically securing the top spot with four matchdays to spare. This is the 27th league trophy won by the Blaugrana, and it is their first since 2019. Xavi Hernández now joins the exclusive club of FC Barcelona legends to win the league title as player and coach of the team.
Below comes a look at five of the main reasons to explain why and how FC Barcelona has managed to clinch their first LaLiga Santander trophy in four years.
Solidity at the back
No team across the five major European leagues has conceded fewer goals than FC Barcelona this season. In their bid to strengthen their defence back in the summer, FC Barcelona brought in Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé, all of whom pitched in to turn FC Barcelona’s back line into the best defence in Spain this season. Ronald Araújo stepped up too and became the leader of the FC Barcelona defence following the retirement of Gerard Piqué mid-season, while the outstanding performances of Alejandro Balde at left-back even forced Xavi to bench former teammate Jordi Alba on many occasions and opt for the 19-year-old instead. Then, whenever they were breached, Marc-André ter Stegen was there to make some incredible saves. This FC Barcelona goalkeeping and the defensive unit has managed an extraordinary 25 clean sheets in 34 games so far this season.
Robert Lewandowski’s goals
Having arrived at the club last summer, Lewandowski offered FC Barcelona what they have been missing since Lionel Messi’s departure back in 2021. The Argentine was LaLiga Santander’s top scorer in eight campaigns, reaching the 30-goal mark in all but one of these seasons. The Blaugrana then struggled in the final third in 2021/22, when no FC Barcelona player scored more than 12 league goals. Enter Lewandowski, who has netted 21 goals in 30 matches, currently competing with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, for the Pichichi Trophy. Lewandowski provided the firepower that helped the team unlock compact defences and break down low blocks throughout the season. His goals have been as important as Marc-André ter Stegen’s clean sheets in 2022/23.
The FC Barcelona fortress
Summer signings, attractive football and motivation to push their team to their first league title since 2019 are just some of the factors that have led FC Barcelona fans to pack the Spotify Camp Nou week in and week out this season. Averaging attendance of more than 82,000 spectators per game, the legendary FC Barcelona ground has been turned into a fortress. In fact, the Blaugrana have not lost any of their home games thus far, recording 14 wins and three draws in 17 duels. Only Rayo Vallecano (0-0) in the LaLiga Santander season opener, RCD Espanyol (1-1) on Matchday 15 and Girona FC (0-0) on Matchday 28 have managed to force Xavi’s side to drop points on home soil, where they have conceded just two goals thus far.
Squad depth
There is no denying that Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé have been two of the most important cogs in Xavi’s well-oiled machine this season. However, the Catalan coach saw those two stars miss out on 11 and 17 games, respectively, due to injuries, and during the most crucial stretch of the season between February and April. Yet, summer signings such as Franck Kessié and Raphinha, as well as squad players such as Sergi Roberto, stepped up when the team needed them most to help the Blaugrana seal important victories, including a 2-1 win over Real Madrid on home soil courtesy of goals from the former AC Milan midfielder and the La Masia academy graduate.
Xavi’s tactical tweak
Injuries to and a brief drop in form from some of his forwards forced Xavi to experiment with his formation and opt for one natural winger instead of two in the majority of FC Barcelona’s games after the 2022 World Cup break. The Catalan coach didn’t quite abandon his preferred 4-3-3 formation, but he fielded line-ups featuring four midfielders, as either Gavi or Kessié would play close to Lewandowski up front in their bid to connect with the Polish striker, take advantage of opposition errors and create danger in front of the opposition goal. Xavi’s magic did the trick and FC Barcelona found solutions in their bid to dictate the tempo in midfield and create an extra man in attack.
3 – The only club in history to have won a league, cup and European Cup treble more than once (2009, 2015).
17 – The age at which Ansu Fati became the Champions League’s youngest ever goalscorer (17 years and 40 days).
27 – The club have won 27 LaLiga trophies throughout their history, the most recent title in 2023.
31 – The club with the most Copa del Rey titles, with 34 triumphs in that tournament and the most recent coming in 2021.
42 – With Ernesto Valverde as the coach, FC Barcelona went 42 games unbeaten in LaLiga Santander between 2017 and 2018, an all-time record in Spain.
67 – Barcelona have played 67 consecutive seasons in European competition, the only team to have done so since it began in 1955.
672 – The number of goals scored by the club’s record goalscorer, Lionel Messi.
1899 – The club was founded in 1899 by Swiss businessman Hans Gamper.
6,392 – The number of goals scored by FC Barcelona in the history of LaLiga Santander, which is the most of all clubs.
99,354 – Barcelona’s home stadium, the Camp Nou, has the biggest capacity in all of Europe.
