La Liga leadership cannot wait longer after Barcelona's amazing comeback

On December 5, Barcelona lost at Cadiz and were 12 points behind Atletico. That night everyone, and I mean everyone, thought winning La Liga was impossible. No. Actually there was one person who still believed, Ronald Koeman. Five months later, Barcelona can go back leaders, with a point advantage on the Rojiblancos. The Dutch coach can be tremendously satisfied. He has turned a broken team into one close to achieving an historic double. The impressive comeback has come from Koeman’s decision to shift formation and his plan being executed by the players. The first of those, Leo Messi. The captain sent a burofax to try and leave last summer but right now he seems prouder than ever to be captain. At almost 34 he is still immense, leading the change to 3-5-2. It has provided defensive solvency, attacking depth and offensive capacity for a Barca that was lacking them. Koeman has won over the dressing room with his management and results. After the cup triumph they have to win tonight to become leaders. Winning two seasons in a transition year like this would be an unprecedented success.

Despite their difficulties, Barca have demonstrated, above all, commitment to the new project. The youngsters and the veterans have both offered their best version. Some, like De Jong and Pedri, have shown the decisions made to sign them to be perfect calls. Together, united, they have marked the path to a comeback. There’s no better way to construct the Barca of the future than through victories. The stats show it. Since that Cadiz night, they have won 18 of 22 games played, taking 57 from 66 points in play. Champion level performances that they can certify today with a win over Granada…

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