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The Spanish La liga would have appeared as Barcelona's birthright few weeks ago, but with the way events are unfolding, we may see the defending Champions toppled by their age long rivals Real Madrid. With Messi's unparalleled form, the Catalans had appeared invincible and unstoppable, in fact many were just waiting for the season to come to an end. Bit by bit, the champions continues to drop points, and guess what, they are now topping the league with just six points gap.

In second place is Santiago Solari's side that seems to have reignited their spark to push to the end. Surprisingly, at the second position is The European Champions instead of Athletico Madrid. Sometimes when things wanna go bad for Barcelona, even the most awesome players become a total shadow of themselves. Yah, that that's how I can describe their performance at The San Mames on Sunday.

The defending champions could not get a goal against Athletic Bilbao yesterday evening, as both teams shared the spoils in a game that ended 0-0. Can't recall the last time Barcelona settled for a goalless draw in a game though, but Sunday's draw was their sixth of the season. The tension of the game may have been high, but the quality was below expectations. With Arthur Melo having picked an injury which may last up to a month, Arturo Vidal appeared so uncoordinated.

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Arturo Vidal Lacked Composure

The Chilean star player haven't been having a bad season though, but yesterday's abysmal outing seems to have been a general connection to all the players except the goalkeeper. Vidal was more belligerent than usual, misplacing passes and giving away the ball at dangerous areas of the pitch. He has always wanted to break into the team starting XI, and with Arthur Melo's absence, he has the opportunity to win Valverde's heart. However, he seems not to be taking advantage of the situation and may have himself to blame if Valverde continues sticking to Arthur Melo on resumption.

And Philippe Coutinho? Nothing Has Change!

The former Liverpool star player has not been able to justify the huge amount of money Barcelona paid to sign him from Anfield, rather his impact for the team is getting worse with each game. His form has seen the 21 year Old Dembele being preferred ahead of him on the left flank. However, one would have have thought the Brazilian will seize this chance and impress the coach since the French young star is injured. Against Athletic Bilbao, Coutinho to me was a surplus. He has lost his spark and it's only a matter of time before Dembele returns to sweep him away.

Luis Suarez's Best Wasn't Enough

When you talk about the best strikers in Europe, there are names you don't omit, whether consciously or uconsciously. One of those names is Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan prolific goal scorer haven't had a bad season so far, he has fifteen goals and five assists in the league after firing 28 shots on target for Barcelona. However, yesterday's game also swallowed Suarez's luck to get a goal against Bilbao.

His inability to hide his frustration saw him whining and screaming after he was brought down by a Bilbao player. Suarez form has dropped on recent time and yesterday's draw called peoples attention to that. With Barcelona already scouting for a possible replacement for him, yesterday's game would have been an awesome opportunity to buy more time for himself.

Lionel Messi Was Out Of Spark

Most times when Barcelona are not getting the results or having some bad moments, one can always trace it to Lionel Messi. The Argentine and Five Times Ballon d'Or winner have shown time without number that he is the life wire of the Catalan team. When Messi is out of form or picks up an injury, the effect is always not fun. The team will slack and Begin to struggle. This situation in Barcelona have made many fear for the future when their best player retires, will Barcelona stay at the top or will they become just like any other team.

Well, Messi's inability to fire Barcelona past a resilient Athletic Bilbao side can be traced to a niggling thigh injury he sustained in Barcelona's last weekend clash with Valencia at the Camp Nou. The Match ended in a 2-2 draw. That injury has seen him drop a little in form as he struggles to get back to his sublime form. Not being 100% fit was also the reason why he came in as a substitute in their midweek Copa Clasico clash against Madrid. He was below his standard and could not inspire Barcelona to a win against the European champions.

However, Valverde had started him yesterday against Bilbao, hoping his talisman delivers him as usual, but it seems Messi's fitness is not yet total. It's worthy of note that Valverde's assistant Jon Azpiazu said before the match that Messi was not 100% fit to start the game. Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde after the game said it wasn't about Messi's fitness, it was about the team slacking a bit.

Speaking to reporters, Valverde said: "Messi is fine and he has played at 100 per cent. He has had some difficulties, because we had them as a collective, but when he plays it is because is absolutely convinced everything is fine. It's like everything else when you get a draw that you think that you should have won. It is a matter for the whole team and people always point to a player because he failed a pass or some situation. It is true that sometimes they can be more successful."

The draw against Bilbao is Barcelona's third draw in a row and the champions have also dropped four points out of six in their last two league games. They are now six points clear of Second place Madrid, and one can only guess what's going to happen in few weeks time. Two weeks ago, Madrid were 10 points behind their rivals, but now, they are just a dozen points away from Barcelona. Seeing Madrid's form and being able to beat a team like Athletico Madrid 3-1, don't you think the European Champions are now ready for business?