fans-fcb.blogspot.com || Guardiola's Barça break barriers

Edgar Fornós

This season, in addition to continuing to fill the cabinet with more trophies, has served to break down some barriers that until now had been insurmountable for this Barça team. Winning at grounds like Espanyol or Valencia are two examples.

The trophies keep coming to fill the museum's showcases. Records and stratospheric statistics that this team achieve now fill the pages of the history of football and this year, in addition, Guardiola’s players have overcome the challenges that had resisted them until now: 

            First wins at certain grounds

The stadiums of Espanyol, Athletico Madrid and Valencia had given up poor results up to last season in the league. At Athletico Madrid, Barça had suffered two defeats (4-3) and (2-1). In Espanyol's new stadium they had only been capable of drawing 0-0, and at Valencia they didn’t do better than draw 2-2 and 0-0 in the first two seasons. In the year 2010/11 Guardiola’s team won at all 3 grounds. 

            Unbeaten in the group stages

Four wins against Rubin, Copenhagen, and Panathinaikos twice, and two draws against Copenhagen and Rubin away were the results achieved in the group stage of the Champions League. In previous years they had lost one game in each of the same stages, against Shakhtar and Rubin Kazan.

            Away wins in knockout phase

Despite having won the Champions League in 2008/2009 and 2010/2011, and have reached the semi-final in 2009/2010, oddly enough they had never won an game away in the knockout phase. This year, they finally broke the curse at Shakhtar in the quarter-finals, which Barça won 1-0. 

            Messi has now scored against Mourinho and in England

The 53 goals scored by Leo Messi this season have meant a lot, above all for scoring against a team led by Mourinho, and also for scoring in England for the first time in his career. Against Moorinho’s Madrid he scored 3 times, 1 in the League and 2 in the Champions League, and an English soil he scored goal in the legendary Wembley Stadium.