Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar Show They Can Lead Barcelona to Another Treble
The track is long and covered in traps. Even the most reliable locomotive could wind up derailed. But with Barcelona hitting top speed, it is no longer unreasonable to ask the question: Can they repeat their treble success of last season?
Crushing Roma 6-1 at the Camp Nou, three days after systematically destroying Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, confirmed their recent good form wasn't just a combination of small improvements, weaker opponents and good luck.
Since their defeat by Sevilla at the start of October, Barcelona have vanquished Rayo Vallecano, BATE Borisov (twice), Eibar, Getafe and Villarreal, improving game by game.
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They hit their peak against Madrid, carrying it on against Roma in a thumping Champions League encounter on Tuesday night.
In between this string of triumphs came a disappointing 0-0 draw with Villanovense in the Copa del Rey, but it was a side with lots of youth players and little enthusiasm, because the second leg at the Camp Nou will likely see them progress, whatever the score had been.
It is still November and to carry this form all the way through until May would be both impressive and almost impossible.
What Barcelona have to avoid is being upset by the FIFA Club World Cup. They travel to Japan in December—a trip that could take a lot out of Luis Enrique's men.
Real Madrid won it in Morocco last Christmas, but they returned tired and ended their huge 22-game winning streak with defeat in the first league game back after the winter "break" against Valencia.
"Break" in inverted commas because they made a bizarre trip to Dubai to play AC Milan in a friendly on December 30, which they also lost.
On top of battling with the schedule and travel, Barcelona may also suffer more misfortune with injuries, which could end their chances of repeating the treble. These factors are hard to control.
But now for the good news. They have the best team in world football, and it's about to get stronger, with Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal eligible to play from January.
Although Bayern Munich have some wonderful players too, few would doubt Barcelona are currently the best team in the world. They have eight players shortlisted for the UEFA Team of the Year and that even ignores Sergio Busquets, who has been simply magnificent.
The key to success, though, lies in their forward line. The famous trident. The three magicians who netted 122 goals last season. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. Where to begin?
Messi is back, starting a game for the first time since he was injured a fraction under two months ago, and Roma felt the full force of his talent weighing down on their backs.
The Argentinian is as beautiful as the beautiful game gets, and his first strike against Roma will be among the contenders for goal of the season.
Neymar, to Messi, back to Neymar, back to Messi, to Suarez, back to Messi and then chipped insolently over Wojciech Szczesny and into the net.
Of course, it's easy to point out Messi's effect with his goals—the second coming later on, firing home after his initial shot had been saved—but they don't tell the whole story.
Messi is about dominating the game. Messi is about turning down the chance to score a hat-trick by giving the ball to Neymar after Barcelona were awarded a penalty, leading to roars of approval from the Camp Nou.
Neymar missed, but Adriano didn't, following up the failed penalty by rifling it home with the power that his compatriot should have used to hit the ball in the first place.
It was Barcelona's sixth goal of a rip-roaring night, with all of them being created or scored—or both—by the trident in some respect.
The first, netted by Suarez, came after an inch-perfect through ball by Neymar for Dani Alves, who cut the ball back to the Uruguayan forward.
Barcelona's second was, as described, a whirlwind of passes between the three forwards resulting in Messi's strike. Suarez lashed home the third with a bombastic volley after Neymar's fierce cross was only half-cleared in his direction.
Gerard Pique tapped home the fourth, following a move by Neymar, Suarez and then Messi, who rolled it across for the defender.
Messi netted the fifth, with Neymar feeding Suarez, who played in the Argentinian, before Neymar won and missed the penalty which led to the sixth.
These three forwards are friends off the field and are somehow even closer on it. They are pushing new boundaries with each match they play and can carry the flag for Barcelona through thick and thin.
Who will be the first team that can stop them? The last time any of those three players failed to strike in La Liga was against Malaga in August.
The final word goes to Luis Enrique, who knows Barcelona still have a long way to go, but seems confident the players can manage themselves to keep their form going.
He said after the game, per Barcelona’s website: "These players are very smart and we know perfectly that we are in the first third [of the season] and the best part is still to come."
The Asturian manager rarely overstates what his players are capable of, so his words bode very well for Barcelona.
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