FC Barcelona has won seven straight games to start the La Liga season, but even after a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Getafe on Wednesday, manager Hansi Flick says there is still potential for development.
Robert Lewandowski gave the Blaugranas an early lead. They dominated the game, holding about 80% of the ball and making 16 shots on target. Nevertheless, Getafe almost equalized in the last moments of the game, so the final score did not accurately reflect their dominance. With their victory, Barcelona has surpassed the records of former managers Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova to rank among the top three for the finest league season start in the club’s history.
With victories over Real Valladolid, Girona, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano, Valencia, and now Getafe, Flick equaled Ernesto Valverde’s record from the 2017–18 campaign, which also started with seven straight wins. Notably, during this period, Valverde’s team allowed just two goals to be conceded, and Flick’s current team has also shown strength at the back.
Flick currently needs one more victory to tie the record held by Gerardo “Tata” Martino during the 2013–14 LaLiga season—eight wins in a row. Even with the record achievements, Flick is still focused on the areas where Barcelona has to improve.
Seven victories is the ideal number, but we still need to improve in a few areas. We had a very positive attitude today. After the game, Flick spoke to reporters, saying, “For me, it’s a good starting point to improve.”
Even though Barcelona controlled the majority of the game, they wasted numerous chances to increase their lead in front of goal. José Bordalás’ Getafe maintained their defensive resiliency and came dangerously close to a late equalizer on a counterattack, applying more pressure to the Catalans.
Despite Getafe’s formidable defensive structure, Flick commended his players’ effort and said, “I’ve been told that it’s always like that against Getafe.” They play excellent defense, but I’m really proud of my players for their 95-minute effort.”
With 21 points, Barcelona is already comfortably ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga rankings, but Flick acknowledges that more needs to be done to keep this momentum going throughout the season.
Along with praising stand-in goalie Iñaki Peña for his strong performance, the German coach also acknowledged first-choice goalie Marc-André ter Stegen, who just had knee surgery. Flick declined to comment on persistent rumors that Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny, a goalie for Juventus, could be moving to Barcelona.
“I just talk about the players that are on the team. Our number one goalkeeper is Iñaki Peña, and I’m satisfied with him,” Flick said. “We have Iñaki Peña who is 25, but the rest of the goalkeepers are very young, so if something happens, we need to have experience.”
Barça’s depth in goalkeeping will be put to the test as ter Stegen is probably going to miss the remainder of the campaign. For the time being, the emphasis is still on maintaining their unbeaten start and taking care of the tiny details that could matter later in the season.
