The Blaugrana could break the club record
for longest unbeaten streak with a draw or
win against Valencia in midweek.


Stop me if you heard this one. Barcelona’s
treble winning coach is on a record 28 game
unbeaten streak, having won 23 of those
matches. In that span they scored 85 goals,
conceding only 14.

It happened in 2011. It almost happened this
year. The only point of departure is that Luis
Enrique ’s men scored 86 goals, while Pep
Guardiola’s team got 85. Everything else is the
same - 23 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses, 14 goals
against.


How did Pep’s team streak ever end?

Well,
interestingly they lost the second leg of a Copa
del Rey tie, one in which they had walloped the
opposition in the first leg. In that case, it was a
5-0 first leg win over Real Betis , with Messi
grabbing a hat trick, and a shock 1-3 loss in the
second leg.

Now, Lucho’s streak could end this week
against Valencia, whom they walloped 7-0 in
the first leg, with Messi grabbing a hat trick. Is
that enough glitches in the Matrix yet?

Last time Barcelona scored 7 with
one player scoring 4 and the other 3
was in 1955. The 4 goals were scored
by a man named Luis Suarez!
— Luis Mazariegos (@luism8989)
February 3, 2016


Well, it’s not all. After Barcelona’s streak ended
in January 2011, they faced Arsenal in the
Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

They’ve been drawn with the same team this
season.

Back then, Barcelona lost the first leg to
Arsenal, 2-1. but advanced with a strong
showing at Camp Nou, winning 3-1 and 4-3 on
aggregate. Arsenal were in third place at the
time Barcelona's streak was broken in 2011,
and they are in third place now heading into
the the hypothetical 29th match in the current
streak.
Barcelona fans will be hoping for a repeat of
2011 in the Champions League and in La Liga,
when Pep’s men completed a famous double.
They’ll even be hoping to do one better and
win the Copa del Rey as well.
The streak matters, sure, but in the end, it’ll be
a footnote if Barcelona doesn’t win major
silverware this season. This is what happened
to Real Madrid ’s 22-win streak last season, for
example.


In 2011, Pep Guardiola sent out a weakened
team in that second leg against Betis. Dani
Alves, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, and
David Villa were all rested, while Eric Abidal
and Sergio Busquets had cameo roles only.
Only two regulars completed the full 90 - Leo
Messi and Gerard Pique.
Lucho is expected to do a similar thing here.
With the fixture dates piling up, many players
are due a night off. He may do it even if it
means risking his unbeaten streak - just as Pep
Guardiola did.

Luis Enrique summed it up: "When the season
is over, we'll see if the streak served any
purpose. We have to wait until the end."

lalasticlala..

hmmmmm,history in making!