5 Key Games That Secured Liga Glory for Barcelona

When Barcelona look back over the course of the 2014/15 season, there will be a handful of games that will be pinpointed as being decisive.

Games that, for whatever reason, went a long way to securing another La Liga title.

Whether hard fought, unexpected or wins that came just at the right time to give Luis Enrique's side some impetus, the matches detailed in the next few slides are the key ones that stand out above the rest.

Let's take a look...

Villarreal Away

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Young Sandro Ramirez was the match winner on his debut.

The first real test of the season came in only the second week of the campaign.

A trip to El Madrigal and a date with Villarreal was Barca’s first away fixture of the season.

And what a tough nut to crack the Yellow Submarine proved to be, as always.

Still goalless after 82 minutes, it took a cool finish from debutant Sandro Ramirez to ensure that the points headed back to Catalonia.

Two games and two wins was the best possible way for Luis Enrique to begin his tenure.

Sevilla Home

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Lionel Messi's hat-trick took him out on his own in the La Liga scoring charts.

When Sevilla pitched up at the Camp Nou, they did so full of confidence and playing as well as they had at any time under Unai Emery.

Indeed, if there were to have been an away win in this particular fixture, nobody would have been that surprised.

Emery’s side were expected to give as good as they got but on the night the Andalusians just couldn’t live with the Blaugrana and Lionel Messi in particular.

His hat-trick on the night saw him surpass Telmo Zarra’s record as the all-time leading La Liga scorer.

Valencia Away

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Sergio Busquets' last-second strike won one of Barca's hardest fought games of the season.

Until Barcelona arrived at Mestalla at the end of November, most teams had been put to the sword and three seemed to be the magic number with Los Che taking all before them at home.

Nuno Santo’s Valencia side were playing a spirited and attractive brand of football that was earning them a whole host of admirers.

Not least because it appeared that we could genuinely add another team into the mix at the very top of the table.

Peter Lim’s takeover of the club had started a feel-good factor that showed no signs of abating…until Sergio Busquets’ 94th-minute smash-and-grab intervention.

With time already up and the whistle about to be blown, Barcelona launched one last attack and Busquets would secure all three points with a last-touch swing of the boot.

It was cruel on the hosts who had deserved at least a point.

Atletico Madrid Home

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Luis Suarez and Neymar were on target as Barcelona ran riot against Atleti.

Just a week after losing to Real Sociedad away from Camp Nou, and the ensuing furore that enveloped Luis Enrique, Barca hosted Atletico Madrid. A team they had failed to beat in six attempts during the previous season.

There certainly wasn’t a celebratory mood about the club and suggestions were made at the time that this could be Enrique’s final game in charge if there wasn’t a response.

A big performance was needed, and a big performance was forthcoming.

Diego Simeone’s side weren’t at the races and were outplayed in all departments. How often do we say that about a side managed by El Cholo?

In a sign of the growing maturity of the relationship between Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, all three were on the scoresheet, with Mario Mandzukic scoring Atleti’s consolation.

If Sociedad was the watershed moment of the season, this result was the one which gave everyone renewed hope.

Valencia Home

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Luis Suarez started the ball rolling as early as the first minute.

After allowing a two-goal lead to slip at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan the week before, Barcelona had to beat Valencia to ensure that Real Madrid, who were still breathing down their necks, couldn’t overtake them at the summit.

A first-minute lead from Luis Suarez was the perfect start but the Catalans then set about making things difficult for themselves.

A local 3 p.m. kick-off on the Saturday, a time slot that Barca had tended to struggle with, looked like it was going to knock them out of their stride again.

Whether through luck or judgment, the hosts somehow managed to keep Los Che at bay.

As the away side pushed forward themselves in a desperate attempt to get a point to help in their chase for a Champions League place, Lionel Messi hit them on the counter-attack in the very last minute of injury time.