Flick’s Barcelona are producing staggering numbers that raise a serious question for Jose Mourinho: has he come back at the worst possible moment?

Barcelona have already sent out a warning to the rest of Europe and to every rival in La Liga.

Barcelona could hardly have wished for a stronger opening to the season. Their 5-1 thrashing of Dutch side Feyenoord on Wednesday night at Spotify Camp Nou launched their Champions League campaign in emphatic fashion and took them to five wins from five matches in all competitions.

Barcelona look stronger than before.

The Catalan club have scored 22 goals and conceded only three during this flawless run, improving on their start to the 2025-2026 season. At the same stage 12 months earlier, Barcelona had recorded four wins and one draw from their opening five games, with 15 goals scored and four conceded.

That earlier sequence was: Mallorca 0-3, Levante 2-3, Rayo Vallecano 1-1, Valencia 6-0, and then Newcastle 1-2 in their opening Champions League fixture. In La Liga, Barcelona collected 10 points from a possible 12 in that period.

This season, the pattern has been far more dominant: Elche 0-5, Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Rayo Vallecano 5-2, Valencia 0-5, and then Feyenoord 5-1. Once again it was four league matches followed by a European game, but the figures are even more striking. Barcelona have taken 12 points from 12 in the league, while scoring 22 times and conceding only three across those five matches.

Their goal difference has risen from +11 to +19. Their scoring rate has increased from three goals per game to 4.4, and the Catalans have also kept three clean sheets instead of two.

Away from home, the contrast is equally clear. Last season, Barcelona scored seven and conceded three in their first three away league matches, with one of those games ending in a draw. This season, they have played two away matches in La Liga and have scored 10 goals without conceding even once.

Raphinha’s explosion has been another major factor.

That collective dominance has been matched by a superb attacking start inspired by Raphinha. The Brazilian scored six goals in his first four La Liga appearances and then struck twice more against Feyenoord. No player has made a bigger statistical impact for Barcelona this season.

Barcelona’s attacking production has clearly risen this term. That has happened despite the summer exits of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, as well as the club’s failure to bring in Julian Alvarez. Supporters had feared a huge void at centre-forward, but Raphinha, more than anyone else, has silenced those concerns.

Mourinho, meanwhile, has returned at a difficult moment.

Real Madrid, across the same period in Jose Mourinho’s second spell, have also played five official matches: a 2-1 win over Espanyol, a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad, a 4-0 result against Malaga, then a 0-1 defeat to Real Betis, followed by a 2-1 win over Inter Milan. That gives them four wins and one loss, with 12 goals scored and four conceded.

With nine points from the first four rounds of La Liga, Real Madrid are third in the table. Barcelona lead the standings with 12 points.

The first true test for both teams will arrive on 25 October, when the season’s first Clasico is played at Spotify Camp Nou.

Barcelona’s outstanding start has undoubtedly caused concern in Madrid, especially for the experienced Mourinho. His return to the Santiago Bernabeu appears to have come at the wrong time, because he must now find a way past the formidable side Hansi Flick has assembled, a team that seems to be delivering its most frightening version yet this season.