The Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey, and La Liga title: that’s Barça‘s tally in Hansi Flick’s first season in charge. A trio of titles that are expected to mark the beginning of a new winning cycle for the Azulgranas, who have based much of their success on the team’s scoring ability with a lethal trio that has carried the team to victory in all three competitions.
Barça has won the league title and has done so largely on the back of goals. So far, they have scored 99 goals in 37 games and are aiming to reach the 100-goal mark for the ninth time in their history. With their two goals against Villarreal, Barça reached the 171-goal mark in all competitions, equaling their fourth-best goal tally.
In addition, this season Barça has established itself as the highest-scoring team from outside the box in the five major European leagues. Here’s a sample. In last Sunday’s meaningless defeat to Villarreal at Montjuic, Hansi Flick’s side came back from Ayoze’s early goal with two long-range strikes from Lamine Yamal and Fermín López.
Two goals that reaffirmed their status as the top scorers from outside the box in Europe’s top five leagues. In total, the Azulgrana have scored 24 goals from long range. In this curious ranking, they are closely followed by Real Madrid with 22, and Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Manchester City, all with 17.
This study reinforces Lamine Yamal’s status as a key player of the year for FC Barcelona. The youth player is the player who has scored the most goals from outside the box, with seven, the same tally as Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé.
The curious statistic of goals from outside the area confirms the importance of goals in Barça’s season. In 37 games played this season, Hansi Flick’s side has only failed to score in two games, finding the net in practically every game of the competition, which undoubtedly highlights one of the keys to the Azulgranas’ title win over Real Madrid. It is precisely against Real Madrid that they have played four clásicos this season in different competitions, with a goal tally of 16 for the Catalans and seven for the Whites.