Barcelona once considered Julian Alvarez an important target in the plan to find a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. However, Atletico Madrid resolutely kept the Argentine striker, forcing the Catalan team to find another option for the attack.
Reality shows that Barcelona is not too dependent on a true center forward. After 7 matches in all competitions this season, Hansi Flick's team has scored 33 goals. In La Liga alone, Barcelona has 28 goals after 6 matches, at least 11 more than the team behind.
The recent series of results partly shows Barcelona's attacking power. They successively defeated Elche 5-0, Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Rayo Vallecano 5-2, Valencia 5-0, Levante 4-2 and Racing Santander 7-2.
In the victory over Racing, Barcelona created up to 6.74 xG, the highest level a team has ever achieved in a La Liga match since the 2010-2011 season. Although this number has the contribution of three penalties, it still shows the superior chances creation ability of the Catalan team.
The noteworthy point lies in Flick's way of arranging the attack. Raphinha, who almost did not play in the striker position last season, is being used in the center forward role. The Brazilian player scored 11 goals from 24 shots, reaching a conversion rate of shots to goals of up to 42.9%. If penalty kicks are eliminated, this rate is still at 38.1%.
Besides Raphinha, Lamine Yamal continues to be an important source of breakthroughs. The young Spanish talent has scored 8 goals and created 21 assists, the most in the league. Yamal's first two assists this season both came in the victory over Racing.
Anthony Gordon has not scored since moving to Barcelona, but the English midfielder has had 4 assists in La Liga. This number is among the highest in the top 5 European national leagues.
Not only relying on individuals, Barca also possesses an organized attacking system. Flick's team has 21 assists in La Liga, at least 9 more than any other team. They also made 45 cross-line passes, including 16 successful passes, far exceeding the rest of the league.
The ability to take advantage of opportunities is another factor that makes the difference. Blaugrana has a penalty conversion rate of 22.2%, among the highest in Europe. Total xG in La Liga reaches 25.1, while the average xG per match is up to 4.18.
These numbers show that Barcelona not only shoots a lot, but also creates high-quality opportunities. They have 126 shots in La Liga, only 2 more than Real Madrid, but the number of goals is 11 more than their opponent.
Goal scoring ability has become a clear mark under Flick. Since the German coach led Barcelona in the summer of 2024, this team has scored 351 goals in 124 matches, averaging 2.8 goals per match.
Last season, Barcelona scored 144 goals in all competitions. This season, the scoring efficiency is even more impressive. Although the efficiency needed to reach the 177-goal mark in La Liga is very difficult to maintain throughout the season, the current figures still show formidable strength.
