Barcelona players return to training after winning the Champions League

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Barcelona starlet ‘disappeared’ during the game against Porto due to an illness

While it was indeed hard-fought, the 1-0 win over FC Porto in matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League made it two wins in two matches for Barcelona. 

As a result, the team from Catalonia are one among the four teams to accumulate six points from the first two games, including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Manchester City. 

A deeper look into the statistics, however, tells a whole new story. A story that depicts Barcelona as the perfect team in the UEFA Champions League this season.

Barcelona’s impressive start to the Champions League

For what it is worth, Barcelona had not won the opening two UCL games in each of their last two seasons. This year, however, not only have they won the games but they are also maintaining a perfect record.

Under Xavi, the Blaugrana have netted a total of six goals, with five of them coming against Royal Antwerp alone. This goal tally is shared only by Bayern Munich and Manchester City, who have achieved similar results in their first two matches.

Notably, what sets Barcelona apart is their impeccable defensive record, having not conceded a single goal. In contrast, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich have all allowed two goals in as many games.

At the moment, the goal difference of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City is +2, +2 and +4 respectively. 

In this context, Barcelona maintain the superior edge among the three teams, with a remarkable +6 in their favour.

Furthermore, their 5-0 win over Antwerp currently remains the biggest win in the UEFA Champions League this season. 

Making amends after poor starts in the past

It must be noted that after the 2020-2021 season, Barcelona struggled to secure back-to-back wins. Back then, they triumphed over Ferencvaros with a 5-1 victory, followed by an impressive 2-0 win against Juventus. 

The following season, however, the team from Catalonia started off with a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich and the team went down with a similar margin against Benfica in the subsequent match, which was more than enough to confirm their elimination.

Last time out, the Blaugrana began their UCL campaign with a 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen, but succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in their second group game.