FCBARCELONA.CAT

10.12.2007 16:48

The best home start under Rijkaard

Manel Tomàs / Jordi Clos

The 2-1 win over Deportivo marked the ever start to a season at home for Barça in five seasons. But the very best start was a run of 15 home wins that was achieved three times in the 1950s.

Eight games at the Camp Nou and eight wins. Barça are unbeatable at home and have now outdone Rijkaard’s previous best of 7 wins and a draw in 2004/05. But there is a long way to go before beating the all-time club record of 15 home wins to start a season, which happened in 1952/53, 1958-59 and 1959/60.

8 out of 8

The run of wins has come against Athletic Club (3-1), Sevilla (2-1), el Zaragoza (4-1), Atlètico Madrid (3-0), Almeria (2-0), Betis (3-0), Recreativo (3-0) and Deportivo (2-1). These games have seen 22 goals scored (an average of 2.75 a game) and 4 against (average 0.5).

Other starts under Rijkaard

This is the first time Frank Rijkaard has collected all 24 points from the first home games of a season. At this stage of the 2003/04 season, he had just 9; in 2004/05 he had 22, and in the last two campaigns, 20.

All time record

This is the best start since 1989/90, under Cruyff, when Barça also won their first eight home fixtures before losing to Sevilla (3-4). But there have been occasions in the past when Barça have won every home game of the season, winning all 13 in 1948/49, and all 15 in 1952/53, 1958/59 and 1959/60.