Barcelona equal Real Madrid's 57-year La Liga record and can break it in the Clásico

Barcelona moved level with Real Madrid’s all-time La Liga record for the best start to a season after thrashing Real Betis 5-2 at La Cartuja in Seville on Saturday 17 October. Hansi Flick’s side have now won each of their opening nine league matches, equalling the mark set by Miguel Muñoz’s Real Madrid in 1968-69.

Muñoz’s side won their first nine games of that campaign before a 0-0 draw with Pontevedra on matchday 10 ended the run. Barcelona now stand precisely where that Madrid team stood — and their next La Liga fixture gives them a direct shot at history against the very club whose record they have matched.

The Clásico is scheduled for Sunday 25 October at Spotify Camp Nou. A tenth consecutive league win would move Barcelona clear of the 57-year-old benchmark outright; a draw or defeat would leave them level with Muñoz’s side. The fixture also carries obvious weight in the broader La Liga title race, with the two clubs meeting early enough in the season for the result to shape the standings significantly.

Before facing Real Madrid in the league, Barcelona travel to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday 20 October. MARCA describe PSG as the current European champions, making the visit a substantial test in its own right. Barcelona have also won both of their Champions League group-stage matches so far, against Feyenoord and Galatasaray, though the nine-win record applies exclusively to La Liga.

The run to nine wins has included a comeback victory over Sevilla earlier in the campaign, alongside the commanding result in Seville at the weekend. Flick, in his first season in charge at the club, has overseen a start that has placed Barcelona in rarefied historical company — and set up one of the more loaded Clásico fixtures in recent memory.