Jose Mourinho’s Record Intact as Barcelona’s Defensive Fortress Crumbles

Renowned football manager Jose Mourinho, known for his turbulent relationship with Barcelona, would have relished their recent 3-1 defeat to Real Valladolid more than most. Not only did the loss signify a disappointing end to Xavi’s LaLiga-winning campaign, but it also ensured that Mourinho’s remarkable defensive record remained intact.

Despite their struggles in cup competitions, Barcelona boasted the best defense in Europe this season by a significant margin. As recently as April, the Catalan giants had conceded a mere nine goals in 30 games, a statistic that Mourinho undoubtedly had an eye on from his residence in Rome.

For the first time since the 2004/05 season when Mourinho led Chelsea to glory, his record of conceding only 15 goals in a 38-game league campaign appeared to be under threat. However, that threat has now been extinguished with Barcelona’s recent back-to-back league defeats.

In the span of just 158 minutes against Valladolid and Real Sociedad, Barcelona conceded as many goals (five) as they had in their previous 15 games combined. This pushed their season total from 15 goals conceded to 18, with two matches remaining.

Mourinho and Chelsea’s historic record of 15 goals conceded during their Premier League title-winning season in 2004/05 remains untouched. The closest any team came to that record was Arsenal under Arsene Wenger in 1998/99, when they conceded 17 goals but narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester United.

Sharing the joint third position with 18 goals conceded are Diego Simeone’s 2015/16 Atletico Madrid, George Graham’s 1990/91 Arsenal, and Deportivo La Coruna, the runners-up in the 1993/94 LaLiga season.

While Barcelona aims to hold onto their current defensive standing in their remaining two matches, credit must be given to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s heroics in goal and the emergence of Ronald Araujo as one of Europe’s top defenders this season.

However, when it comes to defensive prowess, Petr Cech, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and Paulo Ferreira of Chelsea’s 2004/05 squad still reign supreme. AC Milan matched their record of conceding 15 goals in the 1993/94 season, but that campaign consisted of only 34 matches.

Bayern Munich’s defensive performances in recent seasons, with 17 goals conceded in 2015/16 and 18 goals conceded in 2014/15 and 2012/13, cannot be considered in the same category due to the discrepancy in the number of games played.

As Barcelona’s once impenetrable defensive fortress crumbles, Mourinho’s record remains an enduring testament to his managerial brilliance and the defensive solidity of his Chelsea team from almost two decades ago.