BARCELONA'S PERFECT START FACES ITS TOUGHEST TEST YET — AND A GHOST FROM LAST SEASON

The Last Match Before the Break

On Saturday, 19 September 2026, at 9:00 PM local time, FC Barcelona will walk into the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán for their seventh LaLiga fixture of the season. It is the final match before the first international break — a fixture that often decides whether a team enters the pause with momentum or doubt.

Barcelona enter it with neither. They enter it with something rarer: perfection.

Seven From Seven — A Club First

Hansi Flick's side have won all seven of their competitive matches this season — six in LaLiga and one in the Champions League. That is not merely a good start. It is the best start in Barcelona's entire 127-year history.

The previous record of six consecutive wins had been achieved three times — in 1929-30, 1960-61, and 2018-19. None of those teams reached the seventh match still perfect. Flick's Barcelona did.

The numbers behind the run are almost absurd. Thirty-three goals in seven games. An average of 4.7 per match. They have scored at least four goals in six of those seven fixtures — the only exception being a restrained 2-0 win over Athletic Club.

Raphinha has nine league goals already. Lamine Yamal has been the creative engine. Between them, they have scored fifteen goals this season. Against Racing Santander on Wednesday, Barcelona won 7-2 — and it could have been more.

This is not a team grinding out results. This is a team overwhelming opponents.

But Sevilla Is Not Racing Santander

Here is where the analysis must become uncomfortable for Barcelona supporters.

Sevilla sit fifth in LaLiga with 13 points from six matches — their best start to a season in recent years. Under Luis García Plaza, they have won their last two matches without conceding a single goal: 1-0 against Valencia at home, and 1-0 away at Deportivo La Coruña.

In those two matches, Sevilla conceded only three shots on target combined. That is not luck. That is structure.

García Plaza has built a Sevilla side around defensive solidity and man-marking. Flick himself acknowledged this in his pre-match press conference, noting that Sevilla "rely on a defensive style built around man-marking and direct pressing" — and that Barcelona must move the ball quickly and never stop moving to break it down.

This is a different challenge. Racing Santander allowed Barcelona to play. Sevilla will not.

The Ghost of October

There is another factor. Last season, Sevilla beat Barcelona 4-1 at the Sánchez-Pizjuán in matchweek 8. Alexis Sánchez, Isaac Romero, José Ángel Carmona, and Akor Adams scored that day. Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty at 2-1. It was Sevilla's first home win over Barcelona in a decade.

That memory lives in this fixture. Sevilla's supporters will remind Barcelona of it. Barcelona's players will remember it whether they admit it or not.

The psychological dimension matters. A perfect record creates its own pressure — not the pressure of expectation, but the pressure of not wanting to be the one who breaks it. Flick's team have not faced adversity this season. They have not trailed in a match. They have not had to respond to a setback.

Saturday will likely be the first time they must.

The Injury Question

Barcelona travel to Seville without three players.

Joan Garcia, the first-choice goalkeeper, suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee against Racing Santander and will be out for approximately three weeks. He was substituted at half-time as a precaution, but tests confirmed the injury. No surgery is required, and he should return after the international break.

Frenkie de Jong remains unavailable with a tear in the internal lateral ligament of his right knee. Roony Bardghji is out with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

In Garcia's absence, the goalkeeping decision is genuinely uncertain. Wojciech Szczęsny replaced Garcia against Racing but made a costly error that led to Racing's second goal. Dominik Livaković, the summer signing, has yet to make his Barcelona debut. Flick has publicly backed Szczęsny, praising his experience and his role in last season's title win. But the error lingers.

Eighteen-year-old Iker Rodríguez has been called up from Barça Atlètic as third-choice goalkeeper. He is unlikely to play, but his presence underscores how thin the position has become.

What This Match Actually Tests

The Sevilla fixture is not just about three points. It is about whether this Barcelona team can win when the conditions are against them.

The pitch will be hostile. The opponent will defend deep and press directly. The goalkeeper situation is unsettled. The memory of last season's defeat is fresh. And the international break looms — players may be thinking about avoiding injury before joining their national teams.

Flick's comments after the Racing match were telling. "When the players are away we are worried," he said, "but I believe in the national teams". That is a manager already thinking about the cost of this schedule.

Barcelona have played five matches in fourteen days. The physical toll is real. The question is whether the mental toll — the pressure of maintaining perfection — is heavier.

The Verdict

On paper, Barcelona should win. They have the better squad, the better form, and the better attacking output. Sevilla have not beaten a team of Barcelona's caliber this season.

But football is not played on paper. Sevilla have the structure to frustrate, the memory of last season to inspire, and the home crowd to lift them. Barcelona have not been tested yet. Saturday will be that test.

A win would send Barcelona into the international break with a perfect record, three points clear of Real Madrid, and a statement of intent. A draw or defeat would not be a crisis — but it would be the first crack in a facade that has looked flawless.

The most dangerous thing about perfection is the moment it ends. Barcelona will hope that moment is not Saturday.