Stats: The incredible numbers behind FC Barcelona's 29-game unbeaten run
FC Barcelona progressed to the final of the Copa Del Rey with their 8-1 aggregate win Gary Neville's Valencia – the latest being the 1-1 draw they went through yesterday and will now play either Sevilla or Celta Vigo in the final of the competition in May. With the draw, Luis Enrique shattered the record for taking his side for the longest ever streak of unbeaten results since the club was formed 118 years ago.
Former player and manager, Pep Guardiola, beat an older standing record in the 2010-2011 when he took his Barcelona side through 28 matches without having lost but the current side beat Guardiola's team with their 1-1 draw at the Mestalla.
Here's looking at some of the stats behind this incredible run by Barcelona:
- Starting with their 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano back in October 17th, Barcelona have gone on to score 87 goals in the process thanks to the ruthlessness of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar. In the same period, they've conceded only 15 goals winning a total of 23 games and drawing 6.
- The most selected player during the 29 game run is Croatian, Ivan Rakitic, who ha started 25 of the games.
- 8 of the players in the current squad have been a part of both the longest streaks – this and the one 2010/2011 one with Pep Guardiola. They are Adriano, Dani Alves, Marc Bartra, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.
- Barcelona's top scorer in this run was Uruguayan Luis Suarez who scored 30 goals for the Catalans – incidentally all coming from inside the box.
- There have been 11 different scorers from Barcelona including at least from all departments apart from the goalkeeper. There was also 2 own goals in Barcelona's favour during this unbeaten streak.
- After Suarez, the second highest scorer is Brasilian, Neymar, who scored 19 goals. Argentine superstar and five-time Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi scored 18 goals in the same period. Neymar, however, contributed greatly with 16 assists – more than both Suarez and Messi combined – and created 84 chances throughout the run, 48 more than anyone else in the Barcelona squad.
- As a team, Barcelona, have completed 17,122 passes, nearly 10,000 more than any of their Liga rivals – closest being 7005. Brasilian full-back, Dani Alves, leads the charts with the most passes having amassed 1,507 to his name.
.@FCBarcelona has now gone unbeaten in 29 consecutive matches, the longest unbeaten streak in its 118-year history pic.twitter.com/kibG522Oy2
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 10, 2016