On V day, when love was all around in the air, Celta de Vigo had the misfortune of suffering the wrath of the Catalans. A loss for the away side was expected, but the way the defending champions sliced their rivals into pieces made for a staggering scene at the Camp Nou. Barcelona have been so dominant lately – they haven’t lost for 31 matches - that there have been whispers about the historic possibility of repeating the treble achieved last season, when the Catalans won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Barcelona are undoubtedly in a great position at the moment, but it needs to be kept in mind, first and foremost, that no team has ever defended the Champions League in its current format; that includes Guardiola’s Barcelona, who were arguably even better than the current incarnation and the clear favorites to defend the title in 2010 and 2012. Inter and especially Chelsea’s victories were considered massive upsets at the time, but in a Cup competition things like that are always bound to happen. Being the best team over a season doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win a competition where one or two bad matches are enough to end your campaign. While La Liga seems to be in Barcelona’s hands at the moment and they’ll also be huge favorites to retain their Copa del Rey title against Sevilla, the Champions League is a different story altogether.

On paper, you’d favor Barcelona in any potential matchup against Europe’s best. With the likes of Neymar, Suarez, and Messi firing on all cylinders and staking a claim for being perhaps the best-attacking trio the sport has ever seen, backed up by the likes of Busquets and Iniesta in midfield, Barcelona are currently the most-feared side in the continent. The biggest challenge is expected to come from Guardiola’s Bayern and for good reason: the Bavarians have been absolutely dominant this season, and while Barcelona did eliminate them last season the tie happened at a time where most of Bayern’s starters were sidelined by injury. Should that match-up happen again this season, it will most likely be much tougher for the Catalans, especially since you’d imagine Guardiola will be desperate to not leave Munich without adding another Champions League title to his roll of honours.

But again, it needs to be remembered that Inter and Chelsea weren’t really perceived as ‘obvious threats’ back in 2010 and 2012; in fact, Barcelona were unanimously considered the overwhelming favorites for both ties (and the title). In a tournament as competitive and with such a format as the Champions League, danger is bound to come from where you least expect it.

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Another quirk of cup competitions is the possibility of key players picking up injuries at the worst possible time. As ominous as Barcelona look right now, an injury to someone like Iniesta or especially Messi could be enough to make the difference between winning and losing against a European heavyweight. A 6-point lead in the La Liga is relatively comfortable, but not comfortable enough that Luis Enrique will be allowed to rest players for the Champions League. In that sense, though, the additions of Vidal and Turan will prove invaluable as they’ve added some depth to a very thin squad that has played a huge amount of matches over the past two years. Vidal provides cover for Daniel Alves while Turan’s versatility will allow him to play in either midfield or on the wing, according to the team’s necessities.

*Note: All Images Courtesy: © Facebook - FC Barcelona

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