The Catalans came away from Basque Country with a 2-0 win to leave them just three points shy of winning the title.
Barcelona played Alaves all the way back in the first game of the league season, and they proved to be a tough opponent with a late surge of goals giving the Catalans a 3-0 win, although it was much closer than the scoreline suggests. Since then, they have defied expectations by challenging for the European places even though they only have a small budget, but Barcelona navigated through this potentially tough challenge in convincing fashion.
The pursuit of a first Champions League title since 2015 has overshadowed this season due to Real Madrid’s recent dominance in the competition. Barcelona’s domestic dominance has almost come to be expected as this will be their eighth league title in 11 years assuming they are able to win one of their remaining fixtures, as well as a potential fifth consecutive Copa del Rey title. Therefore, wrapping up the league before the Champions League semi-final legs against Liverpool is a priority.
Ernesto Valverde has the tough task of keeping his players fresh, while also obtaining the necessary results in a crucial period. He opted to rest Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Ivan Rakitic, Arthur Melo and Lionel Messi for this match, which was bold considering it was away from home. Messi, Alba and Arthur were all used as substitutes, but they were winning 2-0 before any of them came on, so Valverde’s gamble ended up paying off.
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Resting Messi provided Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho with the chance to stake their claim for the third position in the front three. Dembele failed to take this chance, so Valverde is likely to opt for Coutinho after his inspired display against Manchester United. Leaving Rakitic out of the matchday squad allowed Carles Alena to come into the first team; he left his mark with an assured display and a goal after finishing a sublime team move.
Against Levante, Valverde has the option to rest the other first team players who started against Alaves, especially because the Catalans are playing at home where they are so dominant; once again, he will need to get the balance right, though, as Levante are fighting relegation so they will be tough, but the key players need to be fresh for what is likely to be a major challenge when they face Liverpool. Securing the title prior to the semi-finals means he would be able to rest as many players as he desires against Celta Vigo, which is sandwiched between the two ties.
Valverde has shown throughout this season that he has learned from last season when his poor squad rotation helped contribute to the capitulation in Rome due to key players being tired. Another treble is a real possibility and Valverde deserves a lot of credit if Barca are able to achieve this. For now, the priority is wrapping up another league title.