Barcelona, in recent years, have been a completely mixed bag, and this season has been no different. A classy team massively overshadowed by the financial issues off the pitch, yet those has been sidelined this season.

Before the season began, the Catalan side were predicted to have a good season under Hansi Flick, however, there were some rather heavy doubts about how everyone would cope with the situations that the side found itself in. 

Of course, we can now look at this as a somewhat separate matter, but ahead of the year, talk was dominated by numbers, but now the only numbers in anyone’s mind are on the La Liga table figure, though how long that is the case can certainly be debated, with the summer window only months away. 

According to odds from BettingLounge, Flick’s side are the heavy favourites to lift the title going into the final stretch though. 

Flick’s Brilliant Welcoming

Managing Barcelona is a lot more than trying to instill a system into players. It is a real challenge, and one could argue that it is the most difficult job in football at the moment, given the amount of components that go into it. 

We start with the actual footballing side of things. Straight from the off, regardless of the situation, fighting for the title is a must, and it is no surprise why this is the case, after all, the Blaugrana are one of the biggest clubs in the world, let alone Spain. 

Then, you have to oversee a project which is heavily built around La Masia, though this is far from a bad thing. Having an academy that produces such high-level talents regularly is a huge positive for the club, but there is an expectation to mould them into some of the best players in the world on a first-team level. An idea that is sometimes easier to dream than it is to support. 

Just from these two points, the situation is certainly not the easiest, but then you have the financial problems. In recent history, at least at an elite level, there has not been another club like Barca. Looking back at Lionel Messi’s renewal, or non-renewal a messy situation that seemed to be solved, but was then was torn up due to salary limit issues.

Signing Dani Olmo in the summer, and not fully being able to register him, despite spending almost €60m on him, as per ESPN, is only another example of the mishaps at the club.

Of course, we can also add in the whole Xavi debacle from last season, which The Athletic covered in detail, into the picture. Regardless of that though, here they are with Flick, looking as strong in La Liga and Europe as they have in years. 

Favourites for the League

Considering the past eight months, or even eight years, Barcelona being in a credible position to win another La Liga title is almost unthinkable, and praise has been heaped on the side so far this season.

For Diego Simeone, his stance on things are clear, stating after the 4-2 defeat this weekend that the Blaugrana ‘play the best football’ of anyone, so their position at the top of the league is not a surprise, nor would it be should they win the division this season. 

Earlier in the season, Carlo Ancelotti even admitted, via Forbes, that this season is the closest to an ‘Old Clasico’ that we have seen in recent years, which is a testament to Flick’s side, considering Ancelotti has been, seen and done that in the modern history of the Clasico.

There are still 11 games left for Barcelona this season in the league, having a game in hand on Real Madrid, who sit level on points with the side. However, there is a real feeling in Catalonia that they could see it out in unlikely circumstances. At the same time, they will have to juggle their La Liga priorities with Champions League and Copa del Rey action.