Xavi has scored a total of 41 goals in his 390 league games for the team, with his best season the 2007/08 campaign under Frank Rijkaard, when he scored seven times. Since the arrival of Pep Guardiola as coach, Xavi has scored 6 goals in the treble winning season, 3 in the next two seasons and his 3 so far this year – his best ever start to a year.

Poacher, chip and header

Xavi has got his goals in a variety of ways this season, with a classic poacher’s strike at Anoeta after a pass from Alexis Sánchez, a lovely chip at the Camp Nou in the 8-0 win over Osasuna and his header on Saturday from Pedro’s cross.

Three goals in the last two seasons

Xavi has thus equalled his goal tally from the last two seasons in just the first couple of months of this year’s league campaign. Last year he scored in the 1-5 win over Espanyol, the 1-3 win at San Mames and the 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. In the 2009/10 season, he scored against Valladolid (1-3), Villarreal (1-4) and at home to Getafe (2-1). In neither season, nor in the previous two, did he manage to score in the first seven games.