FC Barcelona Completes its Perfect 'Revenge' in the Second Half of LaLiga

FC Barcelona took another firm step towards the Liga title against Leganés (0-1) and also completed its perfect 'revenge' in the second half of the tournament. The victory in Butarque allowed Hansi Flick's team to defeat the last of the five rivals against whom they fell in the first half (Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, Leganés and Atlético de Madrid).

Barça reached matchday 19 with 5 defeats that moved them away from the lead, but in the second half the 'culés' have been relentless, with 10 victories and only 2 draws. This streak has put the team leader alone with a seven-point advantage over Real Madrid, with the same number of matchdays to be played and waiting for what the 'merengues' do this Sunday at Alavés' ground.

Below, we review the five victories of Barça against their executioners in the first half of LaLiga 2024-25.

📌Unión Deportiva Las Palmas

The Canarians surprised Barça on matchday 15 (November 30) with what was Flick's team's first home defeat in the tournament. Goals from Sandro Ramírez and Fábio Silva spoiled the 'azulgrana' party in Montjuïc (1-2) after the 'culé's' 125th anniversary. Raphinha scored the partial 1-1, but Las Palmas took the victory with two goals in the second half.

However, on matchday 25 (February 22), Barça made amends with a hard-fought victory in Gran Canaria. Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres gave Barça three points (0-2) to settle into the lead and start the revenge streak against the rivals who managed to defeat them in the first half of the championship.

1. Matchday 15: Barça 1-2 Las Palmas
2. Matchday 25: Las Palmas 0-2 Barça

📌Real Sociedad

The next rival on the list was Real Sociedad. The 'donostiarras' defeated Barça, with controversy, at Anoeta on matchday 12 (November 10) thanks to a goal from Sheraldo Becker in the first half and an unusual goal disallowed to Lewandowski due to a failure of the semi-automatic VAR (1-0). Then, on matchday 26 (March 2), Flick's team crushed Real Sociedad (4-0) with goals from Gerard Martín, Marc Casadó, Ronald Araujo and Lewandowski, in a match conditioned by Elustondo's early expulsion.

1. Matchday 12: Real Sociedad 1-0 Barça
2. Matchday 26: Barça 4-0 Real Sociedad

📌Atlético de Madrid

Atlético was, without a doubt, the rival that put Barça in the most trouble this season so far. The 'colchoneros' struck in Montjuïc on matchday 18 (December 21) with an undeserved victory thanks to two goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Alexander Sorloth (1-2), the latter in the last minute. Pedri had put the 'azulgrana' team ahead in the first half of a match that Barça deserved to win by a wide margin.

Then, on matchday 28 (March 16), Barça turned around an incredible match at the Metropolitano in the final 20 minutes. Atleti went 2-0 up, but a great goal from Lewandowski just after the second 'rojiblanco' goal unleashed the 'culés'. Ferran Torres (double) and Lamine Yamal scored the goals of the comeback (2-4), two of them in added time to return to the 'colchoneros' what they experienced in the first half of LaLiga and the first leg of the Cup 'semis' (4-4).

1. Matchday 18: Barça 1-2 Atlético
2. Matchday 28: Atlético 2-4 Barça

📌Osasuna

Osasuna was the first team capable of defeating Flick's Barça in LaLiga, in a match where the coach understood that it is always good to rotate, but not too much. The 'culés' jumped to El Sadar on matchday 8 (September 28) after seven consecutive victories with an alternative XI and the 'rojillos' ended up thrashing (4-2) with a double from Ante Budimir and two other goals from Bryan Zaragoza and Abel Bretones. Pau Víctor and Lamine Yamal scored for the Catalans.

On matchday 27 (March 27), in a match postponed due to the tragic death of Dr. Carles Miñarro, Barça overcame the absences due to the international break with a resounding victory (3-0). Ferran, Dani Olmo and Lewandowski scored for the 'culés' on a quiet day, but bittersweet due to Olmo's injury.

1. Matchday 8: Osasuna 4-2 Barça
2. Matchday 27: Barça 3-0 Osasuna

📌Leganés

Finally, Barcelona's revenge in the second half was completed against Leganés. On matchday 17 (December 15), a goal from Sergio González in the first minutes was enough for the 'pepineros' to surprise in Montjuïc (0-1). Borja Jiménez repeated the plan in the match of matchday 31 (April 12), but this time Barça pulled rank to stay with the three points thanks to an own goal from Jorge Sáenz (0-1). For the moment, the Madrid team is the only team that has been able to match the team in the direct confrontation in Liga (1-1).

1. Matchday 17: Barça 0-1 Leganés
2. Matchday 31: Leganés 0-1 Barça