FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.03.2010 11:56

25 clean sheets

Roger Bogunyà

FC Barcelona have already kept more clean sheets this season than they did throughout the treble winning campaign of last year.

The game against Osasuna was the 25th match without conceding this term as the team have kept out the opposition 15 times in the league, five times in the Champions League, three times in the Copa del Rey and in the Spanish and European Super Cup games. Last season the treble winners kept 24 clean sheets, but that record has already gone after just 45 matches this time around and there are still a minimum of ten league games and two European matches remaining.

Below are more facts and figures from the Osasuna game:

- All ten outfield players helped the defence keep a clean sheet and restricted Osasuna to just three shots on goal all evening. Víctor Valdés had one crucial save to make in the fourth minute.

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal against Osasuna means that he has now scored against eleven of the 19 other teams in the division.

- The front trio of Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi have not started together since the 0-3 win at Real Valladolid.

- Pedro started the game as a substitute for the first time since Barça played in Germany against VfB Stuttgart in the last round of the Champions League. He has been in the starting line-up five times since then.

- Lionel Messi played in his 200th first-team game for FC Barcelona when he appeared against Osasuna. He has scored 114 goals.

- Touré Yaya played the entire 90 minutes for the first time in the league since the game at Xerez on December 2. He did play 90 minutes against VfB Stuttgart in camp Nou.

- Bojan Krkic scored his first goal in the league this season since the opening day.

- The first half ended goalless for the only the third time in Barça’s league season. The other times that no goals were scored were against Málaga and Valencia.

- Winning against Osasuna ensured that Barça’s current tally of league points, 71, is still two more than they had at the same stage last term when they had 69.

- Barça have now scored in each of their last 28 consecutive matches. The last time they failed to find the net was in a goalless draw against Rubin Kazan in Russia.