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Barcelona are sitting comfortably in first place in La Liga with 72 points from 28 games. Only twice in the past 10 years have they accumulated more points at this stage (in 2012-13 and 2010-11), and in that time frame, they've averaged 67 points at this juncture.
They are undefeated in La Liga and other than a Copa del Rey defeat at Espanyol, have not lost since the Spanish Supercup, seven months ago. Barring an extraordinary capitulation, they will win the league, and they'll probably wrap it up in April.
Ernesto Valverde's side are in the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League quarterfinal, which means they're six games away from a treble.
Since 1966, there have been eight teams to pull off the impressive feat of winning the treble. The only club in history to achieve the treble twice is, of course, Barcelona and to add a little insult to injury, their eternal rivals Real Madrid have never tasted the glory of a treble.
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It is obvious that in world football, a team’s success is measured by the trophies they have earned. Thus far into an impressive campaign, Barcelona have the ability to clinch a treble.
#1 First Season omen
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde could win the League, Cup and Champions League treble in his first season at the helm, as his predecessors Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique have done before.
Valverde has regalvanised the lacklustre Barcelona side of last season, taking over the team that had just lost Neymar in a world record €222 million fee to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Spaniard went about setting up the team in a new 4-4-2 system without the Brazilian and in doing so revitalised their fortunes by making them a more well-rounded outfit.
The changes he has brought about have also had a positive effect on the form of their star man Lionel Messi who has been much more involved in the build-up play this season.
Valverde's side is built on firm foundations and with Coutinho and Dembele both contributing, Suarez back to his best and Messi in monster mode, a possible treble triumph in his debut season at Camp Nou would be hardly surprising.
#2 Ability to grind out the results
Ernesto Valverde has brought newfound defensive solidity to the Camp Nou, with his current Barcelona team having the best defence in Europe. They have conceded only 13 times in La Liga this season, their best-ever record at this stage, while they have let in just two in the Champions League as well.
That reason is the defence, who've been impenetrable at times this season, allowing Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to shoulder much of the attacking responsibility without concern of what was going on behind them.
Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic have been given additional responsibility in a two-man midfield and their performances have been outstanding. The pair have protected the defence, whilst Samuel Umtiti's performances have taken a lot of pressure off of an ageing Gerard Pique.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has improved considerably in goal, developing into a world class goalkeeper who is in line to win the Zamora trophy.
In a grand total of 37 matches in LaLiga and the Champions League, Barcelona have let in just 15 goals, averaging one every 234 minutes.
There are, of course, concerns about Barcelona's attacking philosophy under Ernesto Valverde as they have lacked genuine width at times. However, it is impossible to argue that he hasn't brought with him an incredibly strong defensive game-plan that could characterise a historic season at the Camp Nou.
#1 Lionel Messi
Barcelona are of course the only club to have won two trebles. The first of those arrived in 2008-09 under Pep Guardiola, with the second coming in 2014-15 with Luis Enrique in charge. And Lionel Messi, naturally, was at the forefront both times.
Barcelona star scored three times against Chelsea in Last-16 over two legs that saw the La Liga outfit make the quarterfinals 4-1 on aggregate. As a result, Messi became only the second player in history to score 100 UEFA Champions League goals, and reached the impressive milestone quicker than longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo did.
He took 14 fewer apps, 1758 fewer minutes and 266 fewer shots to score his 100th Champions League when compared to Ronaldo.
The Barcelona star added another strike to his tally with a goal past Athletic Club, pushing his total up to 25 for the season. Cristiano Ronaldo's recent return to form could jeopardise the Pichichi trophy that Lionel Messi appeared to have wrapped up, but the Argentine does still hold a three-goal advantage over his rival, with 25 goals to 22.
It appears that Barcelona are set to win the 2017/18 LaLiga title sooner rather than later and in their pursuit of yet another treble, they would be hoping that their talisman does the business yet again for them.
