Szczesny, one of 11 Barca players' not to lose in their first 16 matches

Barcelona returns to La Liga action on Thursday with the postponed match against Osasuna. It will be a somewhat abrupt return from the international break for a side that will not have in the best condition several important men due to national team commitments. After briefly hanging up his boots in the summer, Wojciech Szczesny will once again be part of the starting eleven. The Polish goalkeeper has become a kind of talisman for Barcelona, who have not lost with him on the pitch this season.

'Tek' has already accumulated 16 consecutive matches without being defeated and thanks to this record he has become one of the best debutants of Barcelona's first team in history. Only 10 other players had managed to avoid defeat in their first 16 games until this 2024-25 and the figure is reduced to 7 if we take into account those who did not lose in the 17 official matches with the 'Cules' shirt, so Szczesny could be the eighth on Thursday and continue climbing positions if he maintains his good run with the team.

Of the 10 players in history who, together with the Pole, have reached 16 matches without losing, three remained at that figure as a maximum and they were the Brazilian Giovanni, the Portuguese Vitor Baia and the Spaniard Pepe Reina. The first two, who did not have the same sequence of matches played, achieved it in 1996-97 - 10 wins and 6 draws for the Brazilian and 12 wins and 4 draws for the Portuguese - and both, however, ended the streak with a 2-1 defeat against Athletic Club. The iconic Spanish goalkeeper also had an immaculate start at Barca in 2000-01 with 10 wins and 6 draws in his first 16 games. It seemed that Reina, at the age of 18, was going to have a long career at the Catalan club, but the emergence of Victor Valdes eventually led to his departure to Villarreal.

Arda Turan went 17 games unbeaten, a record that Szczesny could reach on Thursday, in his debut season  for FC Barcelona. The Ottoman ended up playing just two seasons as a 'Cule' player, but his 17 initial matches, with 16 wins and a draw, promised much more. The Istanbul-born player strung together 16 consecutive wins in 2015-16, drew 2-2 with Villarreal in the seventeenth game and lost the eighteenth, a 'Clasico' against Real Madrid (1-2).

From Neymar to Cesc Fabregas

Neymar set a record 18 games during 2013-14, his first season at Camp Nou. The Brazilian won 14 of these matches and drew 4 more until 'Tata' Martino's side's 2-1 defeat away to Ajax in the Champions League. In addition, Philippe Coutinho, a compatriot of Neymar's, extended his unbeaten run since his debut with the Catalan team to 20 matches -14 wins and 6 draws. In a campaign that looked set to be a historic one in league terms, the attacker was involved in Ernesto Valverde's side's 5-4 defeat to Levante, which prevented them from reaching an unbeaten title. It was his best game as an azulgrana and, despite the final reaction from the 'Cules', he could not avoid that unexpected 'k.o.'.

Albert Celades is still the fourth player in Barca's history with 21 matches who has taken the longest time to suffer his first defeat. During the 1995-96 season, the youth player took part in 21 matches without the 'Cule' team being beaten -15 wins and 6 draws- until the Copa del Rey final that Barca lost to Atletico Madrid in extra time at La Romareda.

The third place on the list of debutants in the Barcelona history goes to a man who changed the club's identity first as a player and then as a coach. In 1973-74, Johan Cruyff went 23 consecutive official matches without losing -18 wins and 5 draws- until a 2-0 defeat in one of the last league games against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

Brazilian midfielder Paulinho's only season as a 'Cule' was almost immaculate and gave him a prominent place in this ranking. The international with the 'Selecao' was only defeated once in the entire course and that match came after 25 consecutive unbeaten games -19 wins and 6 draws- in the 1-0 win against Espanyol in the Copa del Rey. The true champion of this list, however, is Cesc Fabregas, who in 2011-12, under Pep Guardiola, also made a superb start as an azulgrana, with 30 consecutive matches without defeat -21 wins and 9 draws- until a 3-2 defeat in a visit to Osasuna.

Now, Szczesny, who is also making his best ever start for a team - only in 2019-20 had he reached 14 games without defeat at Juventus - has 14 wins and 2 draws. The wins came in La Liga against Valencia by 7-1, Deportivo Alaves by 1-0, Sevilla by 1-4, Rayo Vallecano by 1-0, UD Las Palmas by 0-2, Real Sociedad by 4-0 and Atletico Madrid by 2-4; in Copa del Rey against Barbastro by 0-4 and Valencia by 0-5; in the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic by 0-2 and Real Madrid by 2-5; and in the Champions League against Benfica by 4-5, 0-1 and 3-1. The draws took place against Atalanta in the Champions League (2-2) and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey (4-4).

In the remainder of the season, Barcelona have a minimum of 14 official matches and a maximum of 18, so Szczesny still has the chance to surpass practically all of these Barcelona legends. Cesc's figure does seem more difficult to beat, as it would mean that Flick's side would not lose any more between now and the end of the season, but given the team's form it is not completely out of the question either.