2023–24 FC Barcelona season
Barcelona 2023–24 football season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2023–24 Futbol Club Barcelona season was the club's 124th season in existence and their 93rd consecutive season in the top flight. In addition to the domestic league, Barcelona participated in this season's editions of the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España and the UEFA Champions League (entering for the 20th consecutive season). The season covered the period from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024.
2023–24 season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
President | Joan Laporta | |||
Head coach | Xavi | |||
Stadium | Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys | |||
La Liga | 2nd | |||
Copa del Rey | Quarter-finals | |||
Supercopa de España | Runners-up | |||
UEFA Champions League | Quarter-finals | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Robert Lewandowski (19) All: Robert Lewandowski (26) | |||
Highest home attendance | 50,309 vs Paris Saint-Germain (16 April 2024) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 30,167 vs Valencia (29 April 2024) | |||
Average home league attendance | 39,846 | |||
Biggest win | Home: Barcelona 5–0 Real Betis Barcelona 5–0 Antwerp Away: Atlético Madrid 0–3 Barcelona | |||
Biggest defeat | Home: Barcelona 1–4 Paris Saint-Germain Away: Real Madrid 4–1 Barcelona | |||
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Barcelona played their official home matches for the entire season at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys due to the start of Espai Barça project to revamp the club's sporting facilities.[1][2]
This season was the first without captain Sergio Busquets, who left the club after 18 years (15 years as a first team player since the 2007–08 season) as a free agent in the summer and the first full-season in 15 years without Gerard Piqué, who retired before the winter World Cup.[3][4] It was also the first season since 2011–12 without the left-back Jordi Alba, who reached an agreement with the club to terminate his contract one year before its expiration.[5][6]
The season was one of ups and downs, with the team ending their Champions League group stage as the Group G winners, securing its advance to the knockout stage for the first time in three years after they had failed to advance in the previous two seasons.[7][8] In the knockout stage, they defeated Napoli 4–2 on aggregate in the round of 16,[9] with their Champions League journey ending in the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in part due to a Ronald Araújo red card in the second leg of tie, which tipped the scales in Paris' favor despite Barcelona's first leg win.[10][11]
Elsewhere, Barcelona finished as runners-up in the Supercopa de España,[12] and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey in extra-time by the eventual winners Athletic Bilbao.[13] In the league, they failed to defend last season's title, ending the season in the second place, with the only saving grace being the qualification for next season's Supercopa de España.[14]
It was Xavi's third and last season as the head coach of the team,[15] with Hansi Flick confirmed to take over the position starting next season.[16] Statistics wise, the team scored 110 goals in all competitions, with Robert Lewandowski scoring the most (26 goals in all competitions).[17]