Five key matches

· Nov 8, 2014: Almeria 1 Barcelona 2

Fresh from back-to-back league defeats against Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, Barca was facing an embarrassing reverse to relegation-threatened Almeria as it trailed 1-0 with 17 minutes remaining. However, Luis Suarez made his first significant contribution in a Barca shirt as he came off the bench to set up goals for Neymar and Jordi Alba to get Luis Enrique's men back on track.

· Nov 30, 2014: Valencia 0 Barcelona 1

The Mestalla has been one of the toughest places to go in European soccer this season with Valencia losing just once at home in the whole campaign. Real Madrid, Atletico and Sevilla all lost there but, after riding its luck throughout the 90 minutes, Sergio Busquets sealed a vital three points with virtually the last kick of the game deep into stoppage time.

· Jan 11, 2015: Barcelona 3 Atletico Madrid 1

The champion visited Camp Nou with Barca in full-blown institutional crisis. A loss at Real Sociedad a week earlier provoked the firing of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, club legend Carles Puyol followed him and Enrique was said to be one game away from being axed as his relationship with Messi was in tatters.

The 90 minutes that followed turned Barca's season around as Messi, Suarez and Neymar all scored for the first time in a league game together.

· March 22, 2015: Barcelona 2 Real Madrid 1

Barca went into the final Clasico of the season in much better form. However, it had to withstand an onslaught from Madrid for the first hour as Cristiano Ronaldo canceled out Jeremy Mathieu's early opener. Suarez once again proved decisive with a stunning finish that moved Barca four points clear at the top.

· May 17, 2015: Atletico Madrid 0 Barcelona 1

A year to the day since Atletico won a title decider at Camp Nou, Barca exacted revenge and fittingly it was Messi who scored the title winning goal to seal the first trophy of a potential treble this season.

(China Daily 05/19/2015 page19)