La Liga: Barcelona key talking points heading into new 2026-27 season

Barcelona’s dominance of Real Madrid in the last two football seasons has been clear for all to see.So much so, indeed, that their rivals from the Spanish capital have just appointed their fourth manager in 12 months with the return of Jose Mourinho.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Argentina’s Messi not certain to play ‘much longer’ after father’s deathlist 2 of 4Poland says Women’s World Cup plan on course despite UEFA boycott of FIFAlist 3 of 4Hockey World Cup 2026: India-Pakistan blockbuster headlines tournament drawlist 4 of 4FIFA decries ‘concerted’ effort to undermine Infantino as crisis deepensend of listNow Barca are aiming to pile on the misery for Los Blancos.With Barca having captured two successive La Liga titles, and with the team’s players performing a major part in Spain’s World Cup win last month, it is no surprise that oddsmakers are predicting a Blaugrana three-peat.The last time the Catalan club achieved that feat was under legendary Catalan manager Pep Guardiola, who finished the run by making it a Champions League double in 2011.The gap to Real in terms of titles remains a sore point, however, with the Madrid club having lifted the trophy on 36 occ...