Watertight Barcelona enter record books

FC Barcelona's 2-0 win at Rayo Vallecano de Madrid on Saturday marked their seventh consecutive clean sheet in the Liga, setting a new record for the best defensive record at the start of a season in Spain’s top flight.

Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has settled into the side with ease since his summer move from Real Sociedad de Fútbol and has already made vital saves from the likes of Rayo forward Javier Aquino and Málaga CF’s Luis Alberto. But the Chilean has also benefitted from playing behind a new-look and reinforced defence, which overcame a humbling 3-2 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday to put in a dominant display against Rayo.

The unfamiliarity between stand-in goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen – another summer acquisition – and the back four goes someway to explaining why Barça's defence looked ragged against Laurent Blanc's side, who were determined to compensate for their indifferent start to the French season and outran and overpowered the Catalans on the night.

Barça reverted to old habits in Paris by conceding the first two goals of the game from set plays but were back in control against Rayo, and were rarely troubled as they made it 630 Liga minutes without conceding. "I prefer to focus on the performance of the entire team than the record," said Bravo. "We made corrections after the game in Paris and you could see the difference today. We have come here and won the game, which is what we were looking to do."

Of the three defensive reinforcements Luis Enrique brought in over the summer, Jérémy Mathieu has had the biggest impact so far, starting six out of seven league games and bringing both confidence on the ball and combativeness to the team. However, a team's ability to defend depends on far more than merely the back four, and credit must also go to the coach for instilling in his side a renewed focus on pressing opponents high up the pitch – a hallmark of the years of domestic and international hegemony under Josep Guardiola.

Every outfield player has been bestowed with the responsibility to harass the opposition, and this aggressive approach has not only borne fruit in defence: no fewer than four of Barcelona goals this season have originated from robbing their opponents in their own half. Granada CF coach Joaquín Caparrós noted the progress the Blaugrana had made under Luis Enrique before his before his side visited the Camp Nou for a 6-0 reverse on 27 September, declaring: "They are a more positional team now; they have recovered their ability to press when they don't have the ball and also gained a more collective attitude."

The improved level of pressing also means the Catalan club are now less exposed to set plays, having conceded 16 goals from set pieces last season. Barça are now giving away fewer fouls in dangerous situations and conceding fewer corners (an average of 2.4 per game in the league). The lesson of Paris is that there is still plenty of work to do, but there can be no question that by re-embracing defending from the front, Barcelona are heading in the right direction towards defensive solidity.