Under Gerardo Martino, Barcelona failed to win a major trophy last season - watching Atletico Madrid win La Liga and Real Madrid claim the Copa del Rey and Champions League.
Luis Enrique was the man tasked with returning the Catalan outfit to former glories, but Barca haven't had it all their own way this term.
Here, Sports Mole has dissected Barca's start to the 2014-15 season, remembering the ups and downs.
August
Enrique was the man tasked with returning Barcelona to the top of Spanish football and the Catalan outfit got their season off to the best possible start against Elche. As expected, Lionel Messi was at the forefront of their opening-weekend victory, with the Argentine scoring twice in a 3-0 success. The clash also saw 18-year-old forward Munir El Haddadi open his scoring account for Barca on what was his first-team debut.
It did appear that Barcelona would drop points in their second league match at Villarreal, but another youngster – Sandro Ramirez – came up with the goods late on to secure a 1-0 win.
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Summer signings Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu and Ivan Rakitic all started the season in the Barca side, but the supporters were made to wait for Luis Suarez, whose four-month ban for a biting incident at the 2014 World Cup was to keep the Uruguayan out of action until October.
September
Barcelona made it three wins from three league games on September 13 as the Catalan outfit recorded a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao - a match that saw Neymar open his tally for the season - before beginning their Champions League challenge with a 1-0 win over APOEL at Camp Nou.
Enrique's side then put five goals past Levante to make it five consecutive wins in all competitions, but they were held to a goalless draw by Malaga on September 24. Barca regained their scoring touch in their next league game, however, as they thumped Granada 6-0. Incredibly, after seven games of the season, Barca still had not conceded a single goal in any competition.
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Their goal was breached in Paris, however, as Paris Saint-Germain recorded a 3-2 win over Barcelona to take charge of their Champions League group and bring the Spanish side down to earth after what had been an impressive start to the season at both ends of the field.
October
October started in positive fashion as Barca won 2-0 at Rayo Vallecano to continue their stunning start to the league season, before beating Eibar 3-0 at Camp Nou. As a result, it was now no goals conceded in eight league matches, not something that too many predicted.
Barca also got their Champions League campaign back on track with a 3-1 win over Ajax on October 21, but the month was to end in disappointment for Enrique's side.
Barca travelled to Real Madrid on October 25 boasting an unbeaten league record since the start of the season and having still not conceded a single goal in La Liga, but both records ended at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid recorded a 3-1 win in the Spanish capital. There was one positive to take, however, as a certain Suarez made his long-awaited debut for the Catalan outfit.
November
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November started in the worst possible fashion for Barca as they lost 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo, with that result allowing Real Madrid to consolidate first position in the table. There were also question marks over Enrique's brand of football and selection.
Barca did book their spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two games remaining, however, as Messi scored twice in a 2-0 win over Ajax. The Argentine's brace moved him onto 71 Champions League goals – level with former Real Madrid striker Raul's goal-scoring record in the competition.
Barca then returned to winning ways in the league with a 2-1 win at Almeria, before Messi scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory against Sevilla. That treble for Messi moved the Argentine onto 253 La Liga goals – surpassing Telmo Zarra, who had held the record of 251 since 1955.
Three days later, Messi scored another hat-trick in a 4-0 win over APOEL in the Champions League, which moved Messi onto 74 goals in the Champions League - a new record. The clash with APOEL also saw a certain Suarez open his goal-scoring account for the club.
November was not quite finished for Barca, however, and they continued their excellent run of form with a 1-0 win at Valencia courtesy of a late, late strike from Sergio Busquets.
December
Barca's Copa del Rey challenge began on December 3 as they won 4-0 at Huesca in the first leg of their last-32 clash, before another hat-trick from Messi helped the team claim a 5-1 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol in the league.
Barca then needed to beat Paris Saint-Germain in their final Champions League match to top the group and that was indeed the case as the Spanish side recorded a 3-1 win. As a result, topping the section paired Enrique's side with Premier League champions Manchester City.
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Barca were then held to a goalless draw at Getafe on December 13, but booked their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey with a thumping 8-1 win over Huesca at Camp Nou.
Their final match of the year brought more positives as Suarez netted his first league goal in the 5-0 win over Cordoba. Messi and Pedro were also among the goals for the Catalan outfit, who sit one point behind leaders Real Madrid entering the winter break.
Star player so far: Lionel Messi
Must do better: Ivan Rakitic
Where they need to strengthen in January: Would like a new right-back, but as it stands, the Catalan outfit are under a transfer embargo until January 2016.
Mid-season grade: B+
To see Barcelona's remaining fixtures in 2014-15, click here.
Matt Law
