FCBARCELONA.CAT

01.05.2007 12:54

Seven weeks on top

Jesús Carrillo

FC Barcelona's victory against Levante on Sunday saw them retain the leadership of the Spanish top flight for the seventh consecutive week, beating their previous best run this season of six rounds of games in first place.

This term only two teams have been top of the table as Sevilla and Barça have shared pole position throughout.

Fourth day

Sevilla were top for the first three weeks, while Frank Rijkaard's side tucked themselves into second place. After the fourth round of games, the Blaugrana edged ahead despite drawing at home to Valencia as Juande Ramos' team lost their first game of the season as they were beaten 2-1 in Vicente Calderón by Atlético de Madrid. The leadership then changed hands again in week nine as Barça drew in Riazor with Deportivo and Sevilla beat Osasuna.

Changing hands

Only seven days later though, the situation reversed itself as Sevilla were held to a goalless draw away at Racing Santander, while Barça defeated Recreativo de Huevla in Camp Nou. It was the second time that the Catalan club were to go top and they held that position until the 14th week of games, with a gap of one and two points.

World Club Cup

When FC Barcelona travelled to Japan to appear in the FIFA Club World Cup their game against Real Betis was postponed, allowing Sevilla to move back into first place as they beat Recreativo 2-1. It was not until mid-January that things would change once again as Barça's 3-0 win over Gimnástic saw them jump back to the top while Sevilla dropped two points after playing out a 0-0 draw with Villarreal.

Six-in-a-row

At the beginning of the second half of the campaign, the Blaugrana were at their strongest as they held on to first place for six consecutive weeks. The lead though showed how equal the league is as Barça never moved more than four points clear of their Andalucian rivals. That lead was eventually whittled away as Sevilla edged back in front on weekend 25 as Sevilla defeated Barça 2-1 in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

Surprise result

Round 26 saw one of the shock results of the season as Sevilla were beaten 1-0 by Gimnàstic Club in Tarragona. On the same day, Barça drew 3-3 with Real Madrid in Camp Nou, thanks to a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. That point was enough to see the leadership change yet again.

Seven consecutive weeks

Since the game against Madrid, the Blaugrana have remained on top as they have won four of their next six matches. After opening up a gap, that was reduced quickly to just the one point that stands between the two clubs now as Barça were beaten at Real Zaragoza and Villarreal in their last two away games.