Barcelona's first challenge for 2020
The team win the last game of the year but struggle in the first
Barcelona ended 2019 with a win over Deportivo Alaves, confirming their excellent run in recent seasons. In total they have gone 11 campaigns without conceding a single point in the last game of the year. Their first challenge in 2020 will be to continue their excellent statistics in the first game of the year.
Their last defeat in the last game of the year came on Dec 23, 2007, when Real Madrid won 1-0 at Camp Nou. From then they have only ever known victory. They won: Villarreal (1-2), Espanyol (1-0, 1-5), Real Madrid (1-3), Valladolid (1-3), Getafe (2-5), Córdoba (5-0), Betis (4-0), Espanyol again (4-1), Real Madrid again (0-3), Celta (2-0) and most recently Alavés (4-1).
Things haven't gone so well after Xmas. From 2008 they have achieved seven wins, four draws and a defeat in the first game of the year. They beat Mallorca (0-2 and 3-1), drew with Valladolid (1-1), beat Levante (2-1), tied with Espanyol (1-1), beat them a year later (4-0), defeated Elche (4-0), tumbled at Real Sociedad (1-0), drew again with Espanyol (0-0) and with Villarreal (1-1), and most recently beat Levante (3-0) and Getafe (1-2).
CHRISTMAS DERBY
They will face Espanyol again in the first game of 2020. In 2012 and 2016 they drew in the first game of the year and in 2013 Barcelona won. Meanwhile in the pre-Christmas derby clashes Barca won every time (2009, 2010, 2016). Barca face Espanyol in Cornella on Jan 4.
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