MU Shorts
Real Madrid are scoring for fun but Barcelona’s frightening start sends an early warning
Real Madrid have started the new season with plenty of goals, but Barcelona’s numbers underline just how demanding the title race could become.
Jose Mourinho’s leading attackers have combined effectively through six matches, yet Barça are currently operating at a completely different level under Hansi Flick.
Madrid’s four main attacking superstars have produced 22 direct goal contributions between them.
Kylian Mbappe has seven goals and one assist, Vinicius Junior has one goal and four assists, Jude Bellingham has three goals and two assists, while Arda Guler has one goal and three assists. Together, that is 12 goals and 10 assists.
Barcelona have taken attacking production even further
Barça’s five attackers, in comparison, have combined for 26 goal contributions.
Raphinha leads the way with eight goals and three assists, Lamine Yamal has seven goals and two assists, Fermin Lopez has four goals and two assists, Anthony Gordon has supplied four assists and Karim Adeyemi has three goals and one assist.
The numbers check out: Barcelona’s group stands at 22 goals and 26 total goal contributions, while Madrid’s four have 12 goals and 22 contributions.
That comparison needs context. Barcelona have five players included against Madrid’s four, and assists can overlap with goals when looking at team output.
Still, the distribution tells an interesting story.
Madrid remain heavily dependent on Mbappe’s goals
🚨✨ Real Madrid's attackers so far this season:
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) September 14, 2026
• Kylian Mbappé: 7 goals and 1 assist
• Vinicius: 1 goal and 4 assists
• Jude Bellingham: 3 goals and 2 assists
• Arda Guler: 1 goal and 3 assists
17 goals in 6 matches. pic.twitter.com/OWdKMTYxbc
Madrid’s numbers are good. Mbappe’s are spectacular.
Seven goals through six matches is exactly what Madrid want from their main scorer, while Bellingham’s three goals make for good reading too.
Vinicius’ numbers are fascinating for a different reason. Only one goal is below what supporters would expect, but four assists show he is still creating decisive moments.
Guler’s four contributions are another encouraging sign considering the competition he faces for minutes and show why he deserves to start ahead of Yan Diomande.
The concern is that Madrid’s scoring burden remains considerably more concentrated around Mbappe.
Barcelona currently have Raphinha, Lamine, Fermin and Adeyemi all scoring regularly. Gordon has not scored but has been an assist machine thus far.
That gives Barça multiple ways to hurt opponents and more cushion to handle off-days for attackers.
Mourinho needs Vinicius to start scoring
Mbappe cannot realistically maintain responsibility for such a large percentage of the goals across an entire season.
26 G/A THROUGH SIX GAMES 😦
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 13, 2026
🔴 Raphinha – 8 goals and 3 assists
🔵 Lamine Yamal – 7 goals and 2 assists
🔴 Fermín López – 4 goals and 2 assists
🔵 Anthony Gordon – 4 assists
🔴 Karim Adeyemi – 3 goals and 1 assist
Barcelona's attack is nearly unstoppable to start the season🔥 pic.twitter.com/YCRrqDi23s
Bellingham will contribute, Guler can create and Diomande should eventually add another dimension, but Madrid’s ceiling changes dramatically if Vinicius starts scoring consistently alongside Mbappe.
That remains one of Mourinho’s biggest attacking challenges. Los Blancos do not necessarily need to match Barcelona player for player.
They need their own attacking structure to become less predictable. If opponents successfully limit Mbappe, somebody else must punish them.
The Clasico possibilities are ridiculous
Spanish football currently has two attacks filled with players capable of deciding matches individually.
Mbappe and Vinicius against Lamine and Raphinha is already box-office material before Bellingham, Guler, Fermin, Adeyemi and the rest are considered.
Barcelona have won the opening statistical battle. Their attacking production is always likely to be on the higher side too, considering the style of football they play.
However, six matches settle nothing. The encouraging part is that their attack is already producing strongly without every major player reaching top gear.
If Mourinho can get Mbappe and Vinicius firing simultaneously while keeping Bellingham and Guler involved, it would put them in good stead to go toe-to-toe with Barça in the coming months.
Real Madrid’s season, under the returning Jose Mourinho, has not started as expected at the club.
In terms of results, eight matches have produced six wins one draw and two defeats in all competitions. Both losses have come in La Liga (five wins), leading to the Merengues occupying the fourth place in the table.
Meanwhile, arch-rivals Barcelona have maintained a perfect winning record riding on their relentless goalscoring form, opening up a six-point lead at the table.
Mourinho is using the international break to analyse what has gone wrong and what can be improved. And, several metrics and statistics show that Real Madrid has significant room for improvement.
As highlighted a few days ago, Real Madrid are the team that covers the fewest kilometres per match in La Liga on average, at 96.5, almost ten fewer than Barcelona’s 104.5. Los Blancos are also second-bottom for high-intensity runs per match, with 394.
Possession and defensive numbers
There are further figures suggesting that Real Madrid could be doing more in terms of off-the-ball efforts and defensively.
Real Madrid also happen to be the team that commits the fewest fouls, with 59, fewer than half Espanyol’s 120, yet it is also the team that has been fouled the most in La Liga, with 97.
In terms of recoveries, the Spanish capital giants rank 16th with 302, 38 fewer than Barcelona, while they are also near the bottom for interceptions, ranking 17th.
One argument could be that these figures indicate that Real Madrid are dominating games more often than they are dominated, leaving fewer opportunities to be aggressive without the ball.
However, the numbers do not particularly support that theory either. Real Madrid average 52.3% possession, only slightly more than half.
That is a long way behind Barcelona’s 68.7% and also below Villarreal at 61.4%. Even Atlético Madrid (59.1%) and Real Betis (53.6%) outdo the Merengues.
That possession also allows Barcelona to protect themselves more effectively. The Catalans have conceded just 51 shots, including 22 on target, while Real Madrid have faced 89 shots, with 31 on target.
Finishing not up to the mark either
Real Madrid can improve defensively, but the attacking numbers also reveal significant room for growth.
The biggest issue is finishing. The Merengues have scored 18 goals, 13 fewer than Barcelona’s 31.
That is despite the two teams having taken a similar number of shots: Barça have attempted 150, compared with 131 for Los Blancos. The difference is even smaller when looking at shots on target, with 58 for Barcelona and 53 for Madrid.
Barcelona’s players score once every 1.8 shots on target, while Real Madrid stars needs almost three.
The contrast is particularly clear when comparing the leading scorers for both teams, Raphinha and Kylian Mbappe.
The Brazilian has scored 12 goals from just 25 total shots and 16 shots on target. Real Madrid’s No. 10, meanwhile, has scored seven goals from 41 attempts and 22 shots on target.
The numbers clearly show that Real Madrid have a lot of work to do, both in defence and in attack, if they are to close the gap to the top.
Source: AS
