BARCELONA SURPASS REAL MADRID TO SET NEW UNBEATEN RECORD

[Da Nayout]

Barcelona have now gone 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions after claiming victory over Rayo Vallecano on Thursday evening, setting a new Spanish record in the process.

The Catalan giants, who top the Liga table, tied Real Madrid's long-standing record on Sunday courtesy of a 2-1 win over Sevilla at Camp Nou, but have now gone one better by extending their streak even further.

Los Blancos had held the record since the 1988-89 season, when Leo Beenhakker's Madrid side - which featured the likes of Hugo Sanchez and Emilio Butragueno - notched 25 wins and nine draws, but Barcelona have improved on those figures with 29 victories and six draws.



Rayo were unlikely to cause Barca many problems in their pursuit of the record, having not beaten them in 14 years, and so it proved to be as Lionel Messi bagged a hat-trick in a comfortable 5-1 win.

Barcelona's current run has already seen them surpass the 29-match streak set by Pep Guardiola's all-conquering squad in 2011, with the current side not losing since Sevilla secured a 2-1 win all the way back in October.

Manager Luis Enrique, though, is paying no attention to his side's latest milestone, explaining before the match: "The record doesn't mean anything to me right now. It will only mean something if this streak helps us win titles at the end of the season."

The result leaves Barca eight points clear at the top of the table as they close in on a second successive La Liga title, while they already have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Arsenal at the Emirates.[ Invalid YouTube link ]