# 2017–18 FC Barcelona season
The 2017–18 [FC Barcelona](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-barcelona) season was the first campaign under head coach [Ernesto Valverde](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernesto-valverde), in which the club won [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) and the Copa del Rey, set a record 43-game league unbeaten run, and was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the quarter-finals by AS Roma.[1](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1666935/stat-of-the-day-43-games-without-defeat/amp) • [2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona) • [3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coach | Ernesto Valverde, presented on 1 June 2017 after leaving Athletic Club; his first season in charge[4](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648454/ernesto-valverde-20172020) |
| La Liga record | 1st place: 28 wins, 9 draws, 1 defeat, 93 points (2.45 per game), 99 goals for and 29 against[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/206d90db/2017-2018/Barcelona-Stats) |
| Unbeaten run | 43 consecutive league games without defeat between April 2017 and May 2018, a La Liga record[1](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1666935/stat-of-the-day-43-games-without-defeat/amp) • [6](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/523353-longest-unbeaten-streak-by-a-la-liga-team) |
| Only league defeat | 5-4 away at Levante on 13 May 2018, matchday 37, after the title was already secured[1](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1666935/stat-of-the-day-43-games-without-defeat/amp) • [7](https://laligatable.co/tables/2017-18/) |
| Titles | 25th La Liga title (7th in 10 years) and Copa del Rey, the club's eighth domestic double[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona) |
| Champions League | Quarter-finals; beaten 3-0 at Roma in the second leg after a 4-1 home win, out on away goals (4-4 aggregate)[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/) |
| Leading scorer | Lionel Messi, 34 league goals[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/206d90db/2017-2018/Barcelona-Stats) |
## The league title
Barcelona dominated La Liga from start to finish in Valverde's first season as coach. The club's own annual report describes the team as the undisputed champion of a tournament it led throughout, and the side sealed the title with a 4-2 win at [Deportivo de La Coruña](https://www.edgepedia.org/deportivo-de-la-coruna) on 29 April 2018, a result that extended the season's unbeaten league start to 34 games.[8](https://fcbarcelona-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/fcbarcelona/document/2019/01/17/13280748-186b-498b-8d6c-1efd985ff45d/MEMORIA_CLUB_2017_18_ENG.pdf) • [2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona)
The final record of 28 wins, 9 draws and 1 defeat gave 93 points, with 99 goals scored and 29 conceded, a goal difference of +70.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/206d90db/2017-2018/Barcelona-Stats) It was the club's 25th La Liga title and its seventh in ten years, a run of dominance that began in the 2008/09 season. Individually, the 2017/18 title was the first for Valverde and the ninth each for captain [Andrés Iniesta](https://www.edgepedia.org/andres-iniesta) and [Lionel Messi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-messi).[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona)
## The 43-game unbeaten run
**A record streak.** Barcelona's league unbeaten run stretched across two seasons, from April 2017 in the 2016/17 campaign to May 2018, and totaled 43 games without defeat: 34 wins and 9 draws. The club's annual report notes that the 36 league games of the 2017/18 season itself were won back-to-back without loss until the final stretch, with the remaining seven unbeaten games coming from the previous season.[8](https://fcbarcelona-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/fcbarcelona/document/2019/01/17/13280748-186b-498b-8d6c-1efd985ff45d/MEMORIA_CLUB_2017_18_ENG.pdf)
The run broke the previous La Liga record of 38 consecutive games unbeaten, set by [Real Sociedad](https://www.edgepedia.org/real-sociedad) in 1979/80, when Barcelona beat [Valencia CF](https://www.edgepedia.org/valencia-cf) 2-1 on 14 April 2018.[6](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/523353-longest-unbeaten-streak-by-a-la-liga-team) [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records) lists the 43-game streak as the longest unbeaten run by a La Liga team.[6](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/523353-longest-unbeaten-streak-by-a-la-liga-team)
**How it ended.** With the league already won, the run came to an end on 13 May 2018, when Levante beat Barcelona 5-4 at the Ciutat de València on matchday 37, the only league defeat of the season.[1](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1666935/stat-of-the-day-43-games-without-defeat/amp) • [7](https://laligatable.co/tables/2017-18/) Across the league campaign Valverde's side won against 18 of the 19 opponents it faced.[9](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/1666935/el-dato-del-dia-43-las-jornadas-consecutivas-sin-perder)
## Copa del Rey
Barcelona also won the [Copa del Rey](https://www.edgepedia.org/copa-del-rey), completing the domestic double. The club counts 2017/18 as the eighth double in its history, after those of 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1997–98, 2008–09, 2014–15, and 2015–16; in the preceding ten seasons Barcelona had won 13 of the two domestic competitions combined, six Cups and seven leagues.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona)
## Champions League: the Roma exit
Barcelona went through the group stage and the round of 16 without defeat. In the group it beat Juventus 3-0 on matchday one and drew with Olympiacos and [Sporting CP](https://www.edgepedia.org/sporting-cp) along the way, and in the round of 16 it eliminated Chelsea with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge followed by a 3-0 win at home, 4-1 on aggregate.[10](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0252-0d047f2e3b30-2ef67bde4bc4-1000--all-the-2017-18-champions-league-results/) Before the quarter-final second leg the team had five wins and three draws in the competition and had conceded only two goals.[11](https://as.com/futbol/2018/04/04/champions/1522801249_568132.html)
In the quarter-finals Barcelona won the first leg 4-1 at [Camp Nou](https://www.edgepedia.org/camp-nou) on 4 April 2018, with two own goals plus strikes from [Gerard Piqué](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-pique) and [Luis Suárez](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-suarez).[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/) In the return at the Stadio Olimpico on 10 April, Roma overturned the deficit with goals from Edin Džeko, a Daniele De Rossi penalty, and a Kostas Manolas header eight minutes from time, winning 3-0 and advancing on away goals with the tie level at 4-4. UEFA described the comeback as one of the most spectacular shocks in the competition's history and the joint-second biggest comeback in Champions League history.[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/) It was Barcelona's third consecutive Champions League exit at the quarter-final stage.[3](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/)
## Individual performances
Lionel Messi was the league's leading scorer for the club with 34 goals in La Liga.[5](https://fbref.com/en/squads/206d90db/2017-2018/Barcelona-Stats) The season was also the last for captain Andrés Iniesta at the club's peak years of this era, and it gave him a ninth league title, matching Messi's ninth.[2](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona) The summer before the season had been marked by the departure of Neymar, and Valverde was credited in the Spanish press with maintaining dressing-room stability after that exit while making the tactical adjustments that produced the double.[12](https://as.com/futbol/2018/06/15/primera/1529050200_978983.html)
## References
1. [Stat of the day | 43: games without defeat, FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/1666935/stat-of-the-day-43-games-without-defeat/amp)
2. [7th La Liga title in 10 seasons for FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/704172/7th-la-liga-title-in-10-seasons-for-fc-barcelona)
3. [Roma stun Barcelona to reach semi-finals, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0244-0e9cca96247f-6f619a17c764-1000--roma-stun-barcelona-to-reach-semi-finals/)
4. [Ernesto Valverde (2017-2020), FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/648454/ernesto-valverde-20172020)
5. [2017-2018 Barcelona Stats, La Liga, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/206d90db/2017-2018/Barcelona-Stats)
6. [Longest unbeaten streak by a La Liga team, Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/523353-longest-unbeaten-streak-by-a-la-liga-team)
7. [La Liga Table 2017/18 — Final Standings & Results](https://laligatable.co/tables/2017-18/)
8. [FC Barcelona Annual Report 2017/18, Professional Sports / BBVA League](https://fcbarcelona-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/fcbarcelona/document/2019/01/17/13280748-186b-498b-8d6c-1efd985ff45d/MEMORIA_CLUB_2017_18_ENG.pdf)
9. [El dato del día | 43: Las jornadas consecutivas sin perder, FC Barcelona](https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/1666935/el-dato-del-dia-43-las-jornadas-consecutivas-sin-perder)
10. [All the 2017/18 Champions League results, UEFA.com](https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0252-0d047f2e3b30-2ef67bde4bc4-1000--all-the-2017-18-champions-league-results/)
11. [Reto a la romana, AS](https://as.com/futbol/2018/04/04/champions/1522801249_568132.html)
12. [Valverde pierde sus dos peticiones: Robert y Griezmann, AS](https://as.com/futbol/2018/06/15/primera/1529050200_978983.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › Spanish club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license