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A treble isn't something that you just tumble upon every now and then. It is a prestigious honour that only the bravest and the best get to boast about. Adding to that prestige is the pressure.
Winning the Spanish domestic double of the La Liga and the Spanish Cup is no easy task in itself, but the added task of performing on the European stage given Real Madrid's recent Champions League successes takes a toll on Barcelona's hopes.
Let's be honest, no team is confident about winning a treble before the season even starts. Only seven teams have managed to earn the treble in Europe. That being said, it proves that winning trebles is something that doesn't happen too often.
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But here comes the telling twist. Barcelona has won two trebles in the last decade. The only team to win the treble twice and that too within a few years! No pressure, right? The team faces a lot of criticism from their fans and the media whenever they fail to produce in all three competitions.
What Barca fans fail to understand is that although they've been lucky enough to witness two trebles, things like that don't happen every season. But still, for a club like Barcelona, they must aim for all possible titles every season and keep fighting for all three major trophies till May to keep the morale of their fans high.
But what must they do to achieve the same? Winning a treble won't be easy given the ever increasing competition on the European and Spanish fronts.
#5 Squad rotation
Fatigue plays a major role when you are competing for three major tournaments. Although they have an extensive squad and a powerful youth academy, Barcelona haven't been using squad rotation to a good extent.
Valverde practically failed to change his primary lineup except for the closing stages of the season, and the early games of the Spanish Cup when it didn't make any practical sense.
The boss has made his intentions clear that he wants a small squad so he can give chances to young talents, but he needs to make sure that he uses squad rotation effectively to reduce fatigue and make the team competitive in all competitions.
There are several players in Barcelona who spend most of the time on the bench, even when they should be used to replace the main players when the stakes aren't that high. Some of the most notable names are Jasper Cillessen and Denis Suarez.
Nelson Semedo, Sergi Samper, Paco Alcacer and Andre Gomes are also notable players who should be used effectively to make sure that the team is in pristine condition when the big games arrive.
#4 Work on set piece situations
Although Barcelona is a club known exclusively for it's exquisite style of passing play, there is no denying the fact that set-piece situations are one of the prime focuses of teams these days to get goals.
However, the club hasn't historically focused upon scoring from set-pieces. Statistically only 15 percent of their goals in the 2017-18 domestic campaign were scored from set-pieces, and that includes the outrageous numbers of direct free kicks scored by Leo Messi.
On the other hand, Barça's arch-rival Real Madrid has a habit of scoring set-pieces. Over 21 percent of Real Madrid's goals in the domestic campaign last season were scored set-piece situations.
This gap of 6 percent between the two clubs takes an even bigger turn when we consider the fact that out of the 15 percent goals scored by Barcelona from set piece situations, over half was scored by one man from direct free kicks, while almost all of Real Madrid's goals were headed home by their players.
Real Madrid is not the only club which excels in set-piece situations over Barça. Bayern Münich and Juventus also lead the department by example.
However, there is a positive for Barcelona. The presence of the muscular and tall Yerry Mina in their squad gives them the cutting edge in such set-piece situations.
The Colombian scored three goals for his national side in the 2018 World Cup campaign, and if the board has no intentions of selling the defender just yet, he can get the goals for the team.
Additionally, Ernesto Valverde already has Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti who have time and again scored vital headers for the club and their national teams.
It has to be said that set-pieces aren't that big of a concern for a team that plays football as beautifully as Barcelona does, but sometimes when the match is in a crunch situation, set-pieces and headers are the clear differentiator between the winner and the loser.
#3 Give chances to the youth players
Barcelona's once fabled La Masia youth academy has been long forgotten by the managers in-charge. Not only are the young players coming out fresh from the academy sold or loaned out of the club, the practice puts a negative toll on the morale of the young players.
Undoubtedly La Masia is still one of the finest football academies in the world, but the managers in-charge of the first and second teams need to put more trust in the system that has delivered unmatched success for the club in the past.
At the moment there are tons of promising players in Barcelona's ranks, most notably the 2017-18 UEFA Youth League winning squad that has been promoted to Barcelona B under their manager Garcia Pimienta.
A crop of players consisting of talents like Oscar Mingueza, Abel Ruiz, Carles Pérez, Ricard Puig and Juan Miranda would be hoping for chances to prove themselves on the big stage. Not only the U-19 group, but the former men from the B team are also in contention to fight for a place in the first team.
Oriol Busquets, Carles Aleña, Palencia, Cucurella, Miranda, Monchu and Cuenca are all worthy contenders for a place under Ernesto Valverde. It has to be seen how the boss uses the massive amount of talent he has under his charge.
#2 Improve upon their tactical play
Valverde's 4-4-2 simply isn't Barcelona's cup of coffee. For a team that has traditionally played in a 4-3-3 system, creating more passing options and wing play, switching to a flat 4-4-2 seems like a bad option.
Tactics are meant to draw the best out of the men on the field, not to force them to play in a system they are uncomfortable in, or aren't used to. One such example is Sergio Busquets.
The Octopus of Badia as Barcelona fans call him prefers to play as a defensive midfielder, holding down all the lines that go forward from the defence. Busquets has been leading by example for almost a decade now. An irreplaceable talent, Busquets excels in situations when he is the only pivot holding the centre circle.
However, Valverde has at times forced two pivots at the same time to improve the defence, but this puts extra pressure on Leo Messi to create passes.
Well, the Argentine could do that with ease, but the problem arises when he is forced to score the goals playing as a deep-lying playmaker. Whenever Luis Suarez has a bad day, Messi is forced to play two roles simultaneously.
Valverde surely would be thinking about the options he has. A standard 4-3-3 isn't the only solution.
Another widely accepted and successful solution is a 4-3-3 with a False 9. With Coutinho and Dembele in their ranks, Barcelona can effectively exploit the wings with Messi playing in the middle box between the defenders.
Although there is no perfect solution, and neither is Valverde's tactics absurd, a slight improvement would only do good.
One of the biggest breakthroughs Valverde achieved in his first season was the attacking contributions Jordi Alba had in games. Another such breakthrough this season could really help Barcelona do wonders in all three competitions.
#1 Learn from past mistakes
In the last five seasons, Barcelona have faced a quarter-final exit four times in the Champions League. The only time they advanced past the last eight, they went on to win the Champions League, and the treble.
It is clear that the squad loses its focus right when the big games start coming. Performing well throughout the season, Barcelona fail to hit the accelerator in the months of late March and early April. On the other hand, Real Madrid hits the gas right when the Champions League comes calling.
The night in Rome was one of the most embarrassing moments in Barça history. Giving up a 4-1 Camp Nou lead, Barcelona went on to lose 3-0 to AS Roma, the underdogs. Even after getting one of the easiest tie of the round, the team failed to capitalise.
The season prior, after doing the greatest comeback in Champions League history, the team went to sleep against Juventus in the first leg and couldn't score a single goal in the second leg. In the 2015-16 campaign, Barcelona gave away another home advantage to Atletico Madrid.
It is clear that the team needs to arrive in the closing section of the season at their highest levels of fitness and concentration.
They can't afford to take any opponent, or any match as a walkover, and definitely not after talismanic forward Leo Messi made his intentions clear of not settling for anything less than a Champions League victory.
