The Blaugrana could break the club record for longest unbeaten streak with a draw or win against Valencia in midweek.
Stop me if you heard this one. Barcelona’s treble winning coach is on a record 28 game unbeaten streak, having won 23 of those matches. In that span they scored 85 goals, conceding only 14.
It happened in 2011. It almost happened this year. The only point of departure is that Luis Enrique’s men scored 86 goals, while Pep Guardiola’s team got 85. Everything else is the same - 23 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses, 14 goals against.
How did Pep’s team streak ever end? Well, interestingly they lost the second leg of a Copa del Rey tie, one in which they had walloped the opposition in the first leg. In that case, it was a 5-0 first leg win over Real Betis, with Messi grabbing a hat trick, and a shock 1-3 loss in the second leg.
Now, Lucho’s streak could end this week against Valencia, whom they walloped 7-0 in the first leg, with Messi grabbing a hat trick. Is that enough glitches in the Matrix yet?
Last time Barcelona scored 7 with one player scoring 4 and the other 3 was in 1955. The 4 goals were scored by a man named Luis Suarez!
— Luis Mazariegos (@luism8989) February 3, 2016
Well, it’s not all. After Barcelona’s streak ended in January 2011, they faced Arsenal in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. They’ve been drawn with the same team this season.
Back then, Barcelona lost the first leg to Arsenal, 2-1. but advanced with a strong showing at Camp Nou, winning 3-1 and 4-3 on aggregate. Arsenal were in third place at the time Barcelona's streak was broken in 2011, and they are in third place now heading into the the hypothetical 29th match in the current streak.
Barcelona fans will be hoping for a repeat of 2011 in the Champions League and in La Liga, when Pep’s men completed a famous double. They’ll even be hoping to do one better and win the Copa del Rey as well.
The streak matters, sure, but in the end, it’ll be a footnote if Barcelona doesn’t win major silverware this season. This is what happened to Real Madrid’s 22-win streak last season, for example.
In 2011, Pep Guardiola sent out a weakened team in that second leg against Betis. Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, and David Villa were all rested, while Eric Abidal and Sergio Busquets had cameo roles only. Only two regulars completed the full 90 - Leo Messi and Gerard Pique.
Lucho is expected to do a similar thing here. With the fixture dates piling up, many players are due a night off. He may do it even if it means risking his unbeaten streak - just as Pep Guardiola did.
Luis Enrique summed it up: "When the season is over, we'll see if the streak served any purpose. We have to wait until the end."
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