FCBARCELONA.CAT

28.11.2007 13:36

Qualifying before the final game

www.fcbarcelona.cat

This season is not the first time that FC Barcelona have qualified for the next phase of the Champions League as group winners and the last time it happened was in the 2005/06 campaign when Barça went on to lift the trophy.

The Blaugrana qualified for the next stage after the 2-2 draw against Lyon on Tuesday and clinched top spot with the point. With five games played, Frank Rijkaard's side have eleven points, four more than Rangers and Olympique Lyonnais and can now not be caught, independent of the result against VfB Stuttgart in the final match. Barça secured their passage with three wins and two draws and by scoring nine goals and conceding only two.

A good omen

Two years ago Barça won the Champions League after qualifying for the next stage before the final game of the group stage and they were able to travel to Udinese for the final game without any worries, having already won the group. The team's place was booked after a 3-1 victory against Werder Bremen, but the team still secured a win in Italy to cap a fine run.

Two other times

In 2002-03, Barça also made it through to the next phase in top spot before the last game as the team finished with 18 points as they won all their games in a group that contained Galatasaray, Bruges and Lokomotiv.

The other year that the feat was managed was in 1999/2000 as a 5-0 win against AIK Solna meant that the last game against Fiorentina was a formality. Barça finished the group with 14 points, five more than the Italians.