12 Courtesy of La Blaugrana’s 2-1 victory over Los Merengeues last Sunday, Barcelona now sit 12 points ahead of rivals Real Madrid atop the La Liga table.
100 Sunday’s Clasico win for Barcelona gave the Catalan club 100 victories against Real Madrid in official matches within this storied rivalry.
1 Through 253 official El Clasico matches, just 1 game separates these two footballing giants in the win column. Real Madrid have won 101 matches to Barcelona’s 100, with a further 52 draws mixed in. #competition #rivalry
5 Erling Haaland netted 5 times in the match against RB Leipzig last week. The handful of goals scored tied the record for most goals scored in a UCL match. The only other two players to achieve this feat was none other than the GOAT himself, Leo Messi (Barcelona), followed by Luiz Adriano (Shakhtar Donetsk).
39 Thanks to that fistful of scores against RBL, Erling Haaland pushed his goal scoring tally for the season to 39. As a result, the Norwegian eclipsed Tommy Johnson’s 94 year Manchester City single season record (38 goals scored).
3 For the first time since 2006, 3 Serie A clubs will feature in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (Napoli, Inter Milan, and AC Milan).
0 Despite often being regarded as the world’s best manager, shockingly, Pep Guardiola has 0 Champions League titles since leaving Barcelona. The Spaniard brought Barca back to prominence in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, leading La Blaugrana to 2 UCL triumphs.
However, in the nine seasons thereafter, including a three year stint in Bavaria for Bayern Munich, then followed by six full seasons and counting at Manchester City in England, Guardiola has failed to win the Champions League each and every time. It’s quite remarkable when you consider the personnel that he’s managed along the way, and to never win the UCL, and actually only make one UCL Final appearance at that? It’s very surprising to say the least, and if we looked at it logically, you may say Pep is overrated. But, perhaps fortunes will be more fruitful this season, now of course that Guardiola signed the aforementioned Erling Haaland.
7 With just 12 Premier League matches left to play for Liverpool this season, the Reds are currently sitting 7 points adrift of the Top 4 (UCL Spots). Included in the remaining fixtures is an immediate run of matches against Man City (away), Chelsea (away), and Arsenal (home). It’ll be an eight day gauntlet that’ll likely decide Liverpool’s European fate for the 2023-24 campaign.