Season overview
Pre-season
On 12 May 2023, Barcelona announced they would be touring the United States to participate in the pre-season Soccer Champions Tour, with four friendly matches against Juventus in San Francisco on 22 July, Arsenal in Los Angeles on 26 July, Real Madrid in Dallas on 29 July, and Milan in Las Vegas on 1 August. [25] [26]
On 8 June, Barcelona announced that the pre-season will start with the players medical examinations on 10 July. [27] [28]
On 26 June, Barcelona announced the signing of İlkay Gündoğan, on a two-year deal until 2025. [29] On 30 June, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement to sever ties with Samuel Umtiti. [30] On 5 July, the club announced the signing of Iñigo Martínez, on a two-year deal until 2025. [31] On 19 July, the club announced the signing of Oriol Romeu, on a three-year contract until 2026. [32]
On 22 July, the club announced that their match against Juventus on the same date would be cancelled due to a viral gastroenteritis outbreak among a significant part of the Barcelona squad. [33]
On 26 July, Barcelona started their pre-season with 5–3 defeat to Arsenal. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Ferran Torres were on the scoresheet for the team. [34]
On 29 July, Barcelona got their first win of the pre-season, after they defeated Real Madrid 3–0 in the El Clásico thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Fermín López and Ferran Torres. [35] [36]
On 1 August, Barcelona defeated Milan 1–0 thanks to a goal from Ansu Fati. [37]
On 8 August, Barcelona concluded the pre-season with a 4–2 win against Tottenham Hotspur to retain Joan Gamper Trophy. [38] The goals were scored by Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Abde Ezzalzouli, while Frenkie de Jong was chosen as Player of the match. [39]
August
On 9 August, the club announced the departure of Franck Kessié to Saudi club Al-Ahli for 12.5 million €. He played 43 matches for the club and scored three goals. [40]
On 13 August, Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Getafe CF at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. In an extremely physical match, both teams were reduced to ten men when Raphinha and Jamie Mata were sent off in the 42nd and 57th minutes respectively. The match ended with late drama when Barcelona were denied a penalty for a foul on Ronald Araujo right at the end. [41]
On 20 August, Barcelona got their first win of the season, winning 2–0 against Cádiz, with the goals coming from Pedri and Ferran Torres. [42] [43]
On 27 August, Barcelona defeated Villarreal 4–3 in a seven-goal thriller. Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres scored a goal each, along with Robert Lewandowski who scored his first goal of the season and sealed the win in the 71st minute. [44] [45]
On 31 August, the draw for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League group stage was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Barcelona was drawn into Group H, alongside its opponents Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and debutants Royal Antwerp. [46] [47] [48]
September
On 1 September, Barcelona confirmed the signings of forward João Félix and defender João Cancelo on loan until the end of the season. [49] [50] On the same day the club also announced that they had sold Abde Ezzalzouli to Real Betis for €7,500,000, and confirmed that they had loaned out three players until the end of the season: Clément Lenglet to Aston Villa, [51] Ansu Fati to Brighton & Hove Albion [52] and Eric García to Girona. [53]
On 3 September, the team got a hard-fought 2–1 away win against Osasuna, with Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski scoring the goals. New signings João Félix, João Cancelo and Iñigo Martínez made their debuts during the match. [54] [55] Gavi made his 100th appearance for Barcelona, thus becoming the youngest Barça player ever to become a centenarian, reaching the figure at the age of 19 years and 27 days. [56] [57]
On 5 September, the nominees for the Golden Boy award were announced. Three Barcelona players were nominated: Pedri, Gavi and Alejandro Balde. [58] On the next day, the nominees for the 2023 Ballon d'Or were announced. Robert Lewandowski and İlkay Gündoğan were nominated for the Ballon d'Or award. Barcelona had the most players nominated for the Kopa Trophy than any other club, with Alejandro Balde and holders of the award Pedri and Gavi representing the club. While Marc-André ter Stegen was nominated for the Yashin Trophy. [59]
On 16 September, Barcelona got a comfortable 5–0 win against Real Betis. Both João Félix and João Cancelo scored their first goals for the club, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha both scored a goal each, and the other goal was scored by Ferran Torres, who converted a free-kick in the 62nd minute, scoring the club's first free-kick goal in over two years, since Lionel Messi scored a free-kick in a league win against Valencia back in May of 2021. [60] [61]
On 19 September, the team started their Champions League campaign with a dominant 5–0 against Royal Antwerp. [62] João Félix scored twice, Robert Lewandowski and Gavi scored a goal each and the other goal was an own goal from Royal Antwerp's defender Jelle Bataille. Lewandowski became the third player in history behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to reach 100 goals in UEFA club competitions. [63]
On 23 September, Barcelona completed an epic comeback defeating Celta Vigo 3–2, after they were trailing 0–2 until the 81st minute, when Robert Lewandowski scored his first goal of the match and just four minutes later he scored his second, João Cancelo scored the last goal of the match in the 89th minute to complete the dramatic comeback. It's the first time in club's history in the league that the team has been able to overcome a two-goal deficit after the 80th minute. [64] [65]
On 26 September, Barcelona were held to a 2–2 draw away at Mallorca. Raphinha scored one goal and Fermín López scored his first goal for the club. [66] [67]
On 29 September, Barcelona ended the month with a 1–0 win against Sevilla thanks to an own goal scored by Sevilla's defender Sergio Ramos. [68]
October
On 4 October, Barcelona defeated Porto 1–0 away thanks to a Ferran Torres goal at the end of the first half. [69] [70] This match was Xavi's 100th match in charge as a coach, during which time the team has amassed 63 wins and has scored 191 goals. [71] With his start in this match, Lamine Yamal became the youngest player ever to start a Champions League match, just three days younger than Celestine Babayaro was in November 1994 when he started a game for Anderlecht. [72]
On 8 October, Barcelona were held to a 2–2 draw against Granada away. [73] Sergi Roberto and Lamine Yamal scored a goal each, and with his goal Lamine Yamal became the youngest La Liga goalscorer ever aged 16 years and 87 days, breaking the record held by Malaga's Fabrice Olinga, who scored against Celta Vigo in 2012 aged 16 years and 98 days. [74] [75]
After the international break, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 1–0 on 22 October, thanks to a goal from teenage debutant Marc Guiu who scored his first goal for the club just 23 seconds after coming on as a substitute, and became the youngest Barcelona player to debut with a goal in La Liga in the 21st century at just 17 years and 291 days. [76] [77] [78]
On 25 October, the team beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 thanks to goals from Ferran Torres and Fermín López. [79] [80]
On 28 October, Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season after they were defeated 2–1 by Real Madrid in the first El Clásico of the season. İlkay Gündoğan scored his first goal for the club. [81]
November
On 4 November, Barcelona got a narrow 1–0 away win against Real Sociedad thanks to a last minute header from Ronald Araújo. [82]
On 7 November, Barcelona suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk under controversial circumstances after three penalties for the team were denied by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) , of which two were handballs inside the box which were not called and the third was a foul on João Félix inside the penalty area which was also not given even after VAR checked the incident. [83]
On 12 November, the team defeated Deportivo Alavés 2–1 thanks to a Robert Lewandowski brace in the second half. [84] [85]
On 25 November, Barcelona were held to a 1–1 draw against Rayo Vallecano, with the only goal for the Blaugrana being an own goal by Rayo Vallecano's defender Florian Lejeune. [86]
Barcelona concluded the month with a decisive 2–1 win against Porto on 28 November. [87] [7] The win secured Barcelona's advance to the knockout stage for the first time in three years after they had failed to advance in the previous two seasons; [88] the win also confirmed the team as the group winners. João Cancelo and João Félix scored the goals for the team. [8]
December
On 3 December, Barcelona got a hard-fought 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid, with João Félix scoring the only goal of the match. [89]
On 10 December, Barcelona suffered their second league defeat of the season, losing 4–2 to Girona, with Robert Lewandowski and İlkay Gündoğan scoring the only goals for the team. [90] [91]
Three days later, Barcelona suffered a 3–2 loss against Antwerp in the last matchday of the group stage. Barcelona and Porto finished the group with 12 points each, however Barcelona finished first in the group because of their better head-to-head record against Porto. Ferran Torres and Marc Guiu got on the scoresheet for the team. [92] [93]
On 16 December, Barcelona drew 1–1 against Valencia, with João Félix scoring the only goal for the Catalans. [94]
Barcelona got a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Almería in their last competitive match of the year on 20 December, thanks to a brace from Sergi Roberto and a goal from Raphinha. [95] [96]
Barcelona concluded the year with a 3–2 defeat in a friendly against Mexican side Club América on 21 December. [97] [98]
January
On 4 January, Barcelona started the new year with a comeback win, defeating Las Palmas 2–1 after going 1–0 down in the 12th minute. Ferran Torres scored the equaliser in the 55th minute, while İlkay Gündoğan scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute with a penalty kick. [99] [100] New signing Vitor Roque made his debut with the team. [101]
On 7 January, Barcelona defeated Barbastro 3–2 and advanced to the Copa del Rey round of 16 thanks to goals from López, Raphinha and Lewandowski. [102]
On 11 January, Barcelona advanced to the 2024 Supercopa de España final after they defeated Osasuna 2–0 in the semi-final thanks to goals from Lewandowski and Yamal. [103] [104] With his appearance and goal in the 93rd minute, Yamal became the youngest player to take part in the competition and the youngest scorer at the age of 16 years and 182 days, beating the previous record for the 21st century set by Ansu Fati at the age of 17 years and 70 days. [105]
On 14 January, Barcelona suffered a 4–1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Supercopa final with Lewandowski scoring the only goal for the team. [106] [107]
On 18 January, the team advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after they defeated Unionistas 3–1, with the goals coming from Torres, Koundé and Balde. [108] Frenkie de Jong made his 200th appearance for Barcelona. [109]
Barcelona returned to league action on 21 January, winning 4–2 against Real Betis. Ferran Torres marked his 100th appearance for the club with a hat-trick, with the other goal coming from João Félix. [110]
On 24 January, Barcelona were eliminated from the Copa del Rey after they suffered a 4–2 away defeat against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals. Lewandowski and Yamal scored the only goals for the team. [111] [112]
On 27 January, Barcelona suffered a dramatic 5–3 defeat against Villarreal in controversial circumstances after they had a penalty overturned by VAR. [113] [114] [115] [116]
In the post-match press conference, Barcelona manager Xavi announced his decision to step down as the club's head coach at the end of the season, saying: "I took this decision days ago, I already knew it but today was the moment to announce it. I think this decision will help unblocking the team and the mood in here. I think the club needs a change of dynamic and I told the president Joan Laporta. As a fan, thinking about the club and the players, I think they will be freed up and will be calmer. I have always wanted to be a solution for Barça, as I was two years and three months ago – but thinking with my heart, I think it is best to leave office on 30 June. I thank the president for his trust. We need a change of course for the good of the club and this will de-escalate the situation surrounding Barça. In these four months I will give everything. I'll try to give my all to try and win the league. I think we can have a good season and hopefully the dynamic will change." [117] [118] [119] [120]
Barcelona finished the month with a 1–0 win over Osasuna on 31 January. Vitor Roque scored his for goal for the club a minute after coming on as a substitute. [121]
February
On 3 February, Barcelona got a 3–1 away win over Deportivo Alavés thanks to goals from Lewandowski, Gündoğan and Vitor Roque. [122]
On 11 February, the team got held to a 3–3 draw against Granada, with Yamal scoring a brace and Lewandowski scoring once. [123]
On 17 February, Barcelona got a dramatic 2–1 away win against Celta Vigo thanks to a Lewandowski brace, who scored the winning goal in the 97th minute with a penalty kick. With this brace, Lewandowski reached 50 goals with Barcelona, achieving this milestone in 79 matches. [124] [125] [126]
On 21 February, Barcelona drew 1–1 away against Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Lewandowski scored the team's only goal. [127]
Barcelona ended the month with a comfortable 4–0 win against Getafe on 24 February, with the goals coming from Raphinha, Félix, De Jong and Fermín. [128] [129] De Jong's goal scored in the 61st minute was Barcelona's 11,000th goal in the club's history in competitive matches. [130]
March
On 3 March, Barcelona drew 0–0 against Athletic Bilbao in a match that saw both Frenkie de Jong and Pedri suffer injuries. [131] [132]
On 8 March, the team got a 1–0 win over Mallorca thanks to a Yamal goal. [133] [134] Marc-André ter Stegen made his 400th appearance for the club. [135]
On 12 March, Barcelona advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 2019–20 season after defeating Napoli 3–1 on the night and 4–2 on aggregate, [136] with the goals coming from Fermín, Cancelo and Lewandowski. [9] [137] Barcelona became the first team in Champions League history to start two players aged 17 or under in a Champions League knockout match by starting both Yamal and Champions League debutant Pau Cubarsí, the latter of whom became the youngest player to make his debut as a starter in the Champions League knockout stage at 17 years and 50 days and was also named Man of the match. [138] [139]
On 17 March, Barcelona defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 thanks to goals from Félix, Lewandowski and Fermín and climbed to second place in the league standings. [140] [141]
After the international break, the team got a 1–0 win against Las Palmas on 30 March, with the goal coming from Raphinha. [142] [143]
April
On 10 April, Barcelona got a dramatic and hard-fought 3–2 away win against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final thanks to a brace from Raphinha, with the winning goal coming from Andreas Christensen who scored on his 28th birthday. [144] [10] [145]
Three days later, the team got a 1–0 away win over Cádiz thanks to a brilliant bicycle kick goal from Félix and an amazing defensive performance from Ter Stegen. [146]
On 16 April, Barcelona's Champions League journey ended after they suffered a 4–1 defeat in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain (6–4 on aggregate). Despite Barcelona's promising start thanks to a Raphinha goal, the pivotal moment of Araujo's red card in the 29th minute altered the trajectory of the match and ultimately swung the momentum decisively in PSG's favour. [11]
On 21 April, Barcelona suffered a 3–2 defeat against Real Madrid in a hard-fought match. [147] [148] It was marked by a controversial VAR decision when in the 26th minute Yamal guided the ball towards the goal and Real Madrid's goalkeeper Lunin cleared the ball from an inside goal perspective. Four minutes later, after being checked by the VAR, the result was deemed inconclusive because of the lack of the goal-line technology in La Liga and therefore the goal was not allowed. [149] [150] [151]
On 25 April, in a press conference Xavi announced that he had decided to remain Barcelona's head coach and honour his contract that expires in June 2025, reversing his decision to leave the club at the end of this season that he had announced in January, saying that he wanted to "continue with a project that isn't finished and that must be continued... there are several reasons, but the main one was to ensure the stability of the club and to continue building a winning team." [152] [153]
On the same day, the club commemorated the 10th anniversary of the death of Barça's former coach Tito Vilanova by releasing a 2020 Barça Studios documentary about the coach titled "100x100 TITO on YouTube" on the club's official channel. He is remembered as the only Barcelona coach to reach 100 points in a league season and his name lives on at the club with the main training pitch named after him at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. [154]
Barcelona ended the month with a 4–2 comeback victory against Valencia on 29 April, with Fermín scoring a goal and Lewandowski scoring a second half hat-trick which included a free kick goal in the last minute of the match. [155] [156]
May
On 4 May, Barcelona suffered a 4–2 defeat against Girona, with Christensen and Lewandowski scoring the only goals for the team. [157]
On 13 May, the team got a 2–0 win against Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Yamal and Raphinha, which took the team back to second place in the league table. [158] [159]
Three days later, Barcelona got a 2–0 away win against Almería thanks to a brace from Fermín López who reached ten goals with the club. [160]
On 19 May, Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 3–0 in their last home match of the season thanks to a brace from Pedri and a goal from Lewandowski. [161] [162] With this win, the team secured second place in the league and qualified for the next season's Supercopa de España. [14] It was a match of milestones as Araújo made his 150th appearance for the club, with both Gündoğan and Yamal playing their 50th match for the club, making Yamal the youngest player in the club's history to reach 50 appearances at the age of 16 years, 10 months and six days, beating the previous record held by Bojan Krkić who made his 50th appearance at the age of 18 years and three days in August 2008. [163]
On 26 May, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2–1 in their last match of the season thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Fermín López. [164] [165] It was Xavi's last match as the head coach of the club after it was announced two days earlier that he would not continue as the manager next season, reversing the club's last month decision to continue with Xavi as the head coach. [15] [166]
On 29 May, Barcelona announced that the German manager Hansi Flick would become the team's head coach starting next season with a contract until 30 June 2026. [16]
