05.10.2010 12:07

Barça profligacy strikes again

Marc Guillén

FC Barcelona may not be converting in front of goal as autumn sets in this year, but 12 months ago the team was even more profligate as they netted less but still went on to win the league.

This time the situation came in September and last year it was in Ocotber, but in both cases the team struggled to score in six games during the same month. Things are so similar that in one match in each season there was a flurry of goals with the Blaugrana beating Panathinaikos 5-1 this term and Real Zaragoza 6-1 last season.

October struggle

When winning the title in the 2009/10 campaign Barça scored regularly in every month bar one and that run began on matchday six against Almeria. With just five goals in six matches all the talk was of a bad run of form, but it proved to just be a stumble in what was otherwise another season that would end with the greatest prize in the domestic game.

Better yaer

Since playing Hércules on matchday two things have been slightly better this time as the team have scored eight goals in six matches, not including the five-goal haul against Panathinaikos, up until the draw with Real Mallorca at the weekend. That statistic of three more goals proves that this season has seen a slight improvement and gives even more reason to be optimistic.

Average shots

In the six games this season Barça have scored once every 10-76 shots, which is similar to last October when the team required 10.63 shots to score.

One goal

The start of the season last time out was also poor as Barça failed to score in Soria when being beaten by Numancia and could only net once in a 1-1 draw with Racing Santander on weekend two in Camp Nou.