Flick's Barça is better than Xavi Hernández's. It's a truth accepted and acknowledged by Barcelona fans. However, figures don't support this perception.
The brilliant start to the season for Hansi Flick's Barça has been overshadowed by recent results, which cast doubt on the acknowledged improvement.
Flick's and Xavi's Statistics
At this point in the season, after matchday 18, Flick's Barça, despite being the leader, hasn't accumulated more points than Xavi's last year.
Moreover, last year, at this stage, Barça had lost two matches. Flick's team already has four defeats, one less than Xavi's throughout the entire season.
What does seem evident is that this Barça is more competitive than Xavi's, which lost five matches in the entire LaLiga. They are against Real Madrid (both), Girona (both), and Villarreal, all from the top tier.
Flick's Barça Competes More against the Big Teams
Flick's team is convincing against the big teams (4-0 against Real Madrid and 1-4 against Bayern). However, it suffers from concentration issues against the modest teams (losses to Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, and Leganés).
Despite everything, Barça is the leader this year. In contrast, last season, after matchday 18, Barça was seven points behind Real Madrid and Girona.
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The difference lies more with Real Madrid than with Barça. This season, at this stage, Ancelotti's team has accumulated eight points less than last season.
In Europe, Flick's Barça fell in the first matchday in Monaco. Xavi's team conceded the first defeat in the fourth matchday against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Flick's Barça Scores More Goals
The current Barça has strung together memorable victories alongside disappointing matches that ended with lost points. The goal balance is in Flick's favor (50 goals). Xavi's team had 34 goals by matchday 18.
In goals conceded, they are close: 21 to 20 in Flick's favor.
It's clear that, despite everything, Flick's Barça isn't better than Xavi's, at least not when there's still more than half the season left to play.
Xavi finished last season 10 points behind Real Madrid. That's the same difference that, a year earlier, the champion Barça had over the white team.