3-0 win over Elche sends FC Barcelona to the top of La Liga table
Barca the first team to begin three consecutive campaigns as sole leaders
In the last two seasons, convincing opening wins also sent Barca to the top of the table
At the end of the opening round of the new La Liga season, FC Barcelona has shot straight to the top of the table for the third season on the bounce. Superior goal difference gives Barca the edge over Celta, who sit in second place after their 3-1 victory over Getafe.
Last season, the team managed by Gerardo Martino destroyed Levante 7-0 in the opening match of the season to claim first place. A year earlier, Tito Vilanova’s team set the pattern by beating Real Sociedad 5-1 and topping the league table from start to finish.
Sole leader
FC Barcelona becomes the first team to begin three consecutive league campaigns as sole leaders after the first match day. While both Athletic Club (67/68, 68/69 and 69/70) and Real Madrid (93/94, 94/95 and 95/96) have also led the league table after the opening match, they had to share the leadership with another team
Before this recent run of success, the Club had gone 15 years without taking the leadership of the league from the beginning. In total, Barca has led the way after the opening match day on twelve occasions, the same as Real Madrid.