MADRID — A year that equals the best in Barcelona's history, with La Liga in the bag and Champions League and Copa del Rey finals to come, couldn't have started more inauspiciously. The Catalans opened 2015 with a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad on the field and descended into full blown institutional crisis off it. Lionel Messi and Neymar had been left on the bench in San Sebastian after returning back from their Christmas holidays later than the rest of their teammates, a decision which didn't rest well with the former as he skipped an open training session with the club's fans the next day. On the same day, sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta was sacked and his assistant and club legend Carles Puyol walked. The following week Luis Enrique's job was on the line as champion Atletico Madrid visited the Camp Nou, but rather than leave its coach out to dry, Barca produced its best performance of the season and set in motion a run of 29 wins in 32 games to propel it to glory on all fronts. “From the game against Real Sociedad, everything changed,” Messi admitted weeks later. “The attitude, the desire of the team to go out on the field in a different way and to press.” The biggest change came from Messi himself, though. A week after the Sociedad game, the four-time World Player of the Year had to watch Cristiano Ronaldo pick up his third Ballon d'Or and pronounce he was coming for Messi's record. Yet, in the five months which have followed it, Messi has again taken the lead in the rivalry between the two and recovered the level that made him the world's best between 2009 and 2012. If Messi's 54 goals and 30 assists have been the catalyst for Barca's stellar run, Neymar and Luis Suarez have starred in the supporting role. Suarez has added a different dimension to Barcelona, a directness and, at times, nastiness that offers more variety than had even Guardiola's trophy-laden four years in charge. Meanwhile, Neymar's 37 goals means he has struck more than the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo or Thierry Henry ever managed for Barca in a single season. Although often overlooked given his star-studded squad, Enrique also deserves his share of the credit. The former Celta Vigo coach's rotation policy was much criticized in the first half of the season. Enrique didn't name the same starting lineup for two consecutive league games until mid-January. However, whilst title rival Real Madrid has floundered physically in the final few months of the campaign, Barca has got stronger when it matters most. Fittingly it was at Atletico, exactly a year to the day since Los Rojiblancos won the league at the Camp Nou, where the league title was won Sunday thanks to a piece of Messi genius. Messi helped Barca secure a 1-0 win at Atletico. The first trophy of what they hope and most expect to be a treble in three weeks time in Berlin. Real Madrid finished runner-up despite Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat trick in a 4-1 win at Espanyol. It trails Barcelona by four points with one round left. Atletico was left in third place. Elsewhere Sunday, Valencia salvaged a 1-1 draw at home with Celta Vigo, while Sevilla beat relegation-threatened Almeria 2-1; Eibar drew 1-1 at Getafe, while already relegated Cordoba fell 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano; Granada rolled to a 3-0 win at David Moyes' Real Sociedad, while Deportivo La Coruna beat Levante 2-0; Athletic Bilbao erased Jonathas' two goals to rally for a 3-2 win at Elche, while Malaga fell into eighth after losing 2-1 at sixth-place Villarreal. — Agencies
