Barcelona Show with Liga Title Success in Granada They Can Continue Golden Era

Luis Suarez doesn't like losing. Neither do FC Barcelona.

After they were beaten in three league games in a row for the first time since 2003 and dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Atletico Madrid, something had to change.

They were on the brink of crisis. At least crisis as far as a club like Barcelona are concerned.

Their Primera Division lead had slipped away. So had their double-treble dream. Atletico and Real Madrid were on their tail.

So Suarez scored 14 goals in five games. And Barcelona scored 24, conceding zero.

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They smashed their sprint finish, winning the title on Saturday night in Andalusia against Granada after a 3-0 win.

Real Madrid, who have been reborn under Zinedine Zidane, won away at Deportivo La Coruna, so if Barcelona didn't get things right against Granada, then Los Blancos would have lifted the title.

But the Catalans left no room for doubt. They created several chances before Suarez struck the opener in the 22nd minute.

The striker added another before half-time and a third to round things off in the second half, earning Barcelona their 24th title. Their sixth in eight seasons. A quite remarkable number.

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Atletico have won one and Real the other of the two that escaped Barcelona, but for the most part, the Catalans have dominated. And when you add to that four Champions League triumphs in the last 10 years, there is no doubt football this century, to date, has been dominated by one club.

Jordi Alba doesn't think Barcelona are being given enough credit for their success. He spoke to Sport after the victory.

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It's deserved. I hope that people know how to appreciate it, those of us that are inside [the club] know how to. We have won a lot of leagues in recent years. Almost every year we've won titles and that's for a reason. I hope you [the assembled media] are happy that we are champions, although it doesn't seem as if some of you are.

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There’s no reason why Barcelona should stop, either. The most deadly combination in football—Lionel Messi, Neymar and Suarez—has years left at the top.

Just two players in the usual first XI are approaching their sell-by dates. Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta are 33 and 32 respectively. Although it should be noted they were two of the more impressive performers against Granada.

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Alves laid on the second goal for Suarez with a pinpoint accurate cross, while Iniesta dazzled in midfield, leaving Granada players for dead and moving Barcelona further up the pitch.

The squad needs some tinkering, but there is enough about this group of players to expect them to continue leading the way next season.

Suarez is the symbol of Luis Enrique’s Barcelona, the warrior who sometimes shines and sometimes screws up, but if he does, it doesn’t matter as another opportunity lurks just around the corner.

Whereas the Xavi and Iniesta-led passing carousel and complete control is what most people will remember of the Pep Guardiola era—with the obvious exception of Messi—Lucho’s team will be recalled for the vicious attacking edge it possesses.

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But despite the shift, Barcelona are just as formidable and as dangerous to play against. And, clearly, they are on the way to being as successful too.

In bouncing back to win the title, they showed defiance and grit, which perhaps incarnations of this team in years past wouldn't have produced. Gerard Pique noted it, saying on Spanish television (h/t ESPN FC):

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We have had to win it twice, when we were eight or 10 points ahead we had it won then. Then there was a moment when it seemed that we lost it, although we always depended only on ourselves.

This La Liga, 20 years ago we would not have won because many times we were sunk by our own pessimism. But this generation has changed, it faces up, and you can trust in it. I am very happy to continue this winning run in recent league championships. We are experiencing a very important period in this club's history. To win six of eight is something never done before.

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Like Alba, Pique knows and appreciates what this team is doing—and, you have to imagine, will continue to do. Next stop: Madrid, in search of the Copa del Rey trophy.