Xavi's Barça side are moving forward quickly. After 19 games in La Liga, the blaugranes now have 50 points and could be on course for a century after winning 16 matches, drawing two and losing just once. 

The first half of the league season has been exceptional despite kicking off the campaign with a goalless draw at home to Rayo Vallecano. After that the team put together a run of seven wins in a row, conceding just once. The only defeat so far came at the Santiago Bernabéu in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid. Another run of five wins came, again conceding just once, before the enforced break for the World Cup. 

Since the return to league and a draw with Espanyol, a perfect January saw four wins a row without conceding before February's win at Betis. 

Barça, kings of the first half of the season

Getting to 50 points in half a season is no small feat. FC Barcelona is the only club to have achieved the feat. In the last 15 years they have done it now on six occasions: under Pep Guardiola twice, in 2008/09 (50 points) and 2010/11 (52 points); Tito Vilanova in 2012/13 (55 points); Tata Martino in 2013/14 (50 points); Ernesto Valverde in 2017/18 (51 points) and now with Xavi Hernández. 

Six wins in a row in the Villamarín

The 2-1 win over Betis now means that the blaugranes have won six matches in the Benito Villmarín, the first visiting side to do so. 

Força Barça