One month ago, Barcelona were atop La Liga, nine points clear of second place Atletico Madrid and in the quarter finals of the Champions League after defeating Arsenal 5-1 on aggregate.It had been 39 games since they had lost in any competition. In their previous 20 league games, they had won 19. In their next game, Barcelona would face their most bitter rival, Real Madrid in the biggest event in Spanish football: El Clásico. In the first meeting between the two sides this season, the team from the Catalan region left the Spanish capital victorious after a dominating 4-0 display at the Bernabeu. Their second meeting would go a little differently. Despite taking a 1-0 lead on 56 minutes, Barcelona went on to lose for the first time in just under six months. Since then, Barcelona have lost four out of their last five, with their only win coming against a 10-man Atletico Madrid side. They have been eliminated from the Champions League in the quarterfinal, and their lead over their La Liga rivals has disintegrated. Their dramatic and sudden loss of form seems as though it has out of nowhere, however hindsight provides indications that their success was hard pressed to last.
The front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have been brilliant this season; they have combined for a total of 113 goals for Barcelona. However, what was previously lauded as goalscoring brilliance now serves as evidence of an over-reliance on the trio. Together they account for 70 of Barcelona’s 88 La Liga goals. Considering backup forward Munir El Haddadi has scored just three this campaign, it is no surprise that manager Luis Enrique has elected to field the MSN trio in attack when they are healthy. Anyone that has ever played FIFA career mode knows that if you don’t rotate your players, they will fatigue. This is exactly what has happened to Luis Enrique’s men. Barcelona have played more games than any other team in La Liga, and it seems that this demanding schedule has taken a toll on the trio of late. Messi has scored has just once in his last six and has looked content to dictate play from the midfield instead. Neymar has looked as fatigued mentally as he has physically, often opting for the wrong decision in the final third. Even the energetic Luis Suarez, Barcelona’s leading goal scorer on the season, has cooled off. In fact, his five goals in the last 12 for club and country are his lowest tally in any stretch of the same length this season. Collectively, the trio has hit a wall, and Barcelona are struggling to cope.
Despite the recent spell of bad form, now is not the time to panic for Barcelona. They are still arguably favorites in two competitions and if not for an egregious missed penalty call in the final minutes against Atletico, they would still be in the Champions League. Barcelona could still achieve a domestic double at the end of the year, but to do so, their front three must to return to their electrifying best.
