Barcelona’s defense has been incredibly tough to break apart this season in La Liga. Though it sounds unbelievable, they have a greater lead over second-placed Madrid than the number of goals they’ve conceded so far. That’s how dominant they’ve been throughout the 2022/23 La Liga season.
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Ter Stegen the Wall
Marc Andre Ter Stegen’s redemption has to be one of Barcelona’s brightest spots in 2022/23. This has been an uphill battle by Barcelona’s standards, but we have made significant progress in domestic competitions, with the German goalkeeper paving the way.
In the 29 La Liga match days we’ve played so far, Ter Stegen has kept 22 clean sheets, just one behind Caludio Bravo’s 2014/15. Bravo holds the record for most clean sheets by a Barcelona keeper in the 21st century and if Ter Stegen keeps two more in the remaining 9 games, he’ll bag the record for himself.
The Wall – Source: https://twitter.com/mterstegen1/status/1647687685287419907
- In 2015/16, Jan Oblak(Atletico Madrid) kept 24 clean sheets in La Liga and that is the highest ever recorded in La Liga in the 21st Century.
- In the 2004/05 Premier League season, Mourinho’s Chelsea kept 25 clean sheets with 24 coming under Petr Cech’s belt. So three more clean sheets for Ter Stegen will take him beyond Cech to be the goalkeeper with most clean sheets in a single season at European top five.
- In 2022/23 Lazio have kept 18 clean sheets in Serie A and they are the closest to match Barcelona’s tally at the moment.
Incredible BACK Four
The new backline of FC Barcelona became the main talking point for Culers, as we all prayed for something solid like this for years. In 2022/23 La Liga we have conceded only 9 goals, keeping an average of 0.31 per game. Young talents like Balde, Araujo, Kounde, and Christiensen were the ones who took Barcelona to such an impressive defensive record in La Liga.
- 2004/05 Chelsea side conceded only 15 goals and remain on top for the fewest goals conceded at a league season in the 21st Century.
- Atletico’s 18 in 2015/16, is the La Liga record for the fewest goals in this century and only 1+ goals per game can take it away from Barcelona.
Compare with other teams’ goals allowed stat this season in La Liga
With what we’ve seen this season from Barcelona, it’s impossible to think that Barcelona are not able to break these records. However, they’ll still be looking to add a prolific right back to this strong backline from next season.
What do you think? Is the greatest defensive display by Barcelona at a single season in recent history?
