Lionel Messi's Sparkling Form Can Fire Barcelona to Treble Glory This Season

When Pep Guardiola’s astonishing Barcelona side won the treble in 2009, it was the first time in history that any team from Spain had lifted the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies in the same season. Lionel Messi’s magic was at the heart of that stunning achievement, and six years on, history could be set to repeat itself.

The current crop of players under the tutelage of manager Luis Enrique may not be quite as talented as that immortal side Guardiola assembled, nor can the current boss call upon depth comparable to that iconic group of players. But they still have Messi, and you could argue that after his latest hat-trick against Levante, the Argentina man is better than he’s ever been.

Here’s a look at his 23rd treble in the red and blue:

As noted by WhoScored.com, no other player on the planet can touch the Blaugrana No. 10 at the moment:

Barcelona have played with an irrepressible swagger as of late, and despite Real Madrid’s awesome 22-game winning run in late 2014, the Catalans are primed to strike in the title race, sitting just one point behind their great rivals. Given the current form of both sides, you’d have to make the Blaugrana favourites for that crown.

But there’s a growing sense that the domestic title is the very least this burgeoning team can win this season. Indeed, as noted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN, they're beginning to match some of the landmarks posted by the great Guardiola team:

After all, Messi also orchestrated a recent win over Villarreal in a 3-1 first-leg win in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey. Subsequently, Barca should progress to the final, where they will potentially meet local rivals Espanyol or Athletic Bilbao in the showpiece of what looks like a very winnable competition.

We’re also on the cusp of the Champions League knockout stages. The Nou Camp club will play Manchester City in what looks like a tricky last-16 tie, but following 11 successive wins since a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad, Enrique’s side will fear nobody; Messi, undoubtedly, has plenty to do with that.

While the insouciant forays on the left flank from Neymar and the bustling, unyielding energy of Luis Suarez at the point of the attack have been a little overlooked, Messi gives this team an edge like no other player can. And when he’s in this kind of form, Barcelona boast an aura of invincibility about them.

As noted by Spanish football writer Lee Roden, somewhat ominously, Messi has even made some positive refinements to his game as of late:

Barcelona have settled into a devastating groove in 2015, and much of that is down to Enrique, who deserves enormous credit for facilitating a system in which Messi, Neymar and Suarez can all flourish. Naturally, the big challenge will be preserving these astonishing levels as we reach the business end of the season with massive tests to come.

But as we can see here, courtesy of MisterChip, Messi has been unerringly consistent since the days of Guardiola’s tenure:

Looking ahead, the league title and Copa are both there for the taking for Barcelona. That would represent a fine achievement for Enrique in his maiden campaign, but with Messi in insatiable goalscoring mood, there’s a festering belief that this team can achieve something historical this season.

Whether they have the defensive cohesion or European know-how to go all the way in the Champions League remains to be seen. But as long as Messi is in the team and he’s preserving stratospheric levels of creativity and goalscoring, Barcelona will feel as though anything is possible.