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Although the away match against Madrid's "Rayo Vallecano" was victorious for Barcelona on Saturday, the losers ended an impressive streak of ball control by the Catalans. Before the match in Madrid, "Barca" had won ball control in 317 consecutive matches.
In the 4-0 victory, where Pedro scored three goals for the first time in his career, "Rayo" players won ball control 51% to 49%. The last time "Barca" had lost ball control was in a match against Madrid's "Real" on May 7, 2007, when Frank Rijkaard was still managing the team.
Under the coaching of Pep Guardiola, "Barca" controlled the ball longer than their opponents for 247 matches in a row, and then another 60 matches in a row when Tito Vilanova took over the team.
Despite the new coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino not abandoning Barcelona's passing and ball control philosophy, after just 8 games played, there are already noticeable changes in the Catalans' game.
Despite the loss in this statistic category, "Barca" secured a stunning victory and maintained their position at the top of "La Liga."
