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10 months ago
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The race for the Spanish league title has taken a more exciting turn than one would have anticipated at the start of the season.
As we enter the final stretch of the campaign, Real Madrid only have a six-point advantage over Girona, who have an additional game in hand. Barcelona are not far behind, though they are still trailing Real Madrid by eight points.
One area where Barça have been able to compete with Real Madrid, though, is on the goalscoring front. With 52 goals in 25 matches, Barcelona have netted just one fewer goal than their arch-rivals this season.
Barça’s worrying goalscoring trend
Although Barcelona and Real Madrid have competed fiercely on the goalscoring front this season, there is a worrying trend emerging out of Barça’s scoring tally this season.
It appears more than one-third of the Catalans’ goals this season have come during the final stretch of games.
Indeed, 19 of the total 52 goals scored by Barcelona this season have come in after the 75th-minute mark, with five of them coming during additional time.
Barcelona have often relied on late goals this season (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
80th to 85th-minute mark has been the most common goalscoring period, with Barcelona netting no less than seven goals this season during these five minutes.
The Catalans have netted three during the 75th to 80th minute mark while four have come between the 85th to 90th minute mark.
This is certainly a worrying trend, as far as Barcelona are concerned – a trend that signifies the difficulty the team has endured when it comes to winning matches.
While Barça have been able to break opposition defenses late in the game, it is not a trend that the club can count on, if they are to give Real Madrid and Girona a run for their money.
Xavi, therefore, must find a way for Barcelona to start games more impactfully. The upcoming contest against Getafe could prove to be an ideal litmus test for the Catalans.
