Barcelona Extend Record Undefeated Streak To 36 Matches

Barcelona extended their record unbeaten streak to 36 matches with a 4-0 drubbing of SD Eibar

Things are looking good at Barcelona these days. The Blaugrana sit at the top of La Liga with a comfortable lead, are all but assured to advance in the Champions League past Arsenal, and are on course to win their second consecutive treble. On top of all that, they are setting new records seemingly every match.

Having broken the record of a Spanish team going unbeaten at 35 matches on Thursday with a 5-1 win against Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona traveled to Basque Country to face SD Eibar. The club was previously held by the Real Madrid side of 1988-89 who went 34 matches unbeaten.

The Basque club is the little engine that could as they have worked their way up to the top half of the table despite having one of the smallest grounds and financial power in the top-flight.

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Eibar, in their Barcelona-esque red and blue striped kits, albeit a bit darker than Barca’s, gave the visitors some trouble in the early goings. Their pressure was relentless and they nearly forced the experienced Barca backline in to some costly errors, most notably a near own goal by Sergio Busquets.

After Munir gave Barcelona the lead inside 10 minutes, Eibar’s pressing was the main talking point as they harassed and harried the visitors and induced some silly fouls from a frustrated Luis Suarez. Eventually however, it was Leo Messi’s brilliance that made the difference.

A dazzling run and finish from a tight angle gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead just before halftime and essentially ended the match. Eibar could not maintain their high energy pressing for the whole match and a Messi penalty along with a Suarez finish capped things off for the Blaugrana.

With that win, Barcelona extends their record streak to 36 and could add another two before facing their first real test. They play Getafe at the Camp Nou on March 12th before Arsenal come to Spain for the second leg of their Champions League tie on March 16th. Arsenal did well enough in the first leg at the Emirates until Messi broke their defenses but the Blaugrana just do not lose big matches at home.

After the match against Arsenal, Barca will face two stiff tests from fourth placed Villareal and another edition of El Clasico on April 2nd. This Barcelona club is firing on all cylinders and while defeat may eventually come at some point again this season, it does not appear to be coming any time soon.