Barcelona lead Real Madrid by 12 points in La Liga and defeated their rivals 4-0 earlier in the season ‒ and now the Spanish giants have broken their record by going 35 games unbeaten.
Luis Enrique’s side set a new Spanish record after securing a 5-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Thursday night.
The victory, which saw Lionel Messi net a hat-trick, meant the European giants set a Spanish record of 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions.
The previous record in Spanish football stood at 34 matches, held by Real from the 1988-89 season, but Barcelona’s latest achievement will no doubt hit Zinedine Zidane’s men hard.
Earlier in the season, Barca thrashed Real 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Luis Suarez netting a brace in the victory.
And with 27 matches played, Enrique’s in-form side lead second-place Atletico Madrid by eight points at the top of La Liga.
Real, sitting in third place, are 12 points behind the league leaders but could exact revenge on their rivals when they visit the Nou Camp on April 2.
Barcelona’s Spanish record was confirmed after they secured a comfortable victory over relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano.
Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring, Messi caught up with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo on 35 trebles in all competitions and Arda Turan completed the rout with Turkey’s captain scoring his first goal for the club since joining from Atletico Madrid.
Rayo defender Diego Llorente was sent off three minutes before half-time for a foul on Rakitic and Manuel Iturra followed in the 67th for bringing down Sergio Busquets in the penalty area, although Luis Suarez’s penalty was saved by Juan Carlos.
