FC Barcelona are once again leaders of La Liga after a difficult 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano Monday night at the Olimpic Stadium in Barcelona and now have gone 12 straight matches without a loss. In fact, they haven´t lost a match in all of 2025 and now the race for the La Liga title is on with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. While the win on Monday wasn´t pretty, it was important FC Barcelona won a closely contested match in which they had to struggle a bit. Rayo pressed well and caused Barca problems, but they survived, which is key as they maneuver through the rest of the campaign with La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey all still in play.
The simple fact is Barca has played themselves into the top spot of La Liga and now have a very good chance to hold onto that lead and increase it with the way they are playing. Again, they haven´t lost in 2025 and have scored 4 or more goals in 7 of their 12 games during that run. Robert Lewandowski has provided 9 goals in these 12 games, while Raphina has added 7 and Lamine Yamal 5, leaving Barca´s goal differential at a stunning +40. No, that isn´t a typo. 40. With Real Madrid not playing their best football and Atletico Madrid cooling off a bit, the window of opportunity for Barca to extend their lead is upon them.
While scoring goals clearly hasn´t been an issue, Barca has been prone to conceding goals with just four clean sheets in this 12-match run. However, three of those four clean sheets have come in the past four matches, and coach Hansi Flick has his back line playing well. Pau Cubarsi, Iñigo Martinez and Robert Araujo have rotated at center back, instilling Flick´s tactical preference to play an extremely high line. Combined with the pressing of the front 3, Barca is growing defensively which will help them in these final few months of the La Liga title race.
Looking ahead, Barca travel to Gran Canaria to face a Las Palmas staring at the face of relegation, followed by the Copa del Rey semifinal with Atletico Madrid, and a home match against struggling Real Sociedad. They must continue to produce results as Madrid and Atletico won´t go away easily, however Barca look to have the quality, commitment, and drive to hold this lead and even push for a possible treble.