Is Barcelona's Reign Coming to an End After Two Straight Losses?

On Sunday, Barcelona accrued its second straight loss of the year. On Tuesday, the team lost 2-1 in the Champions League against Ajax, and on Sunday, the squad took another hit, losing 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao. While past Barcelona teams have lost (and emphatically), this pair of losses might truly signal the end of Barcelona's stronghold atop the Spanish League.

While Real Madrid's offensive juggernaut continues to develop and improve, Barcelona's lack of Lionel Messi continues to become a major deficiency for the team. In the game against the Dutch side, the team managed to create a number of scoring chances but lacked the killer instinct on the decisive pass. The absence of Messi was even greater on Sunday when the team failed to generate more than two shots on goal despite monopolizing 62 percent of possession time.

Neymar, who was brought in precisely for this situation, has been great for Barcelona overall, but has failed to help the team in Messi's absence. His last goal for the team came in the 4-1 win over Real Betis; ironically, that was the last game that Messi played in for Barcelona. Neymar has managed two assists in the three games since, but his effect has been minimal at best. The remainder of the squad has looked equally mediocre throughout. Even a 4-0 win over Granada seemed labored and only foreshadowed the problems of the following week.

Neymar can hardly be at fault for this enormous disaster taking place. Coach Gerardo Martino is drawing a tremendous amount of blame for not adhering to Barcelona's traditional tactics and it is becoming increasingly clear that his early success was the result of Messi's incorporation on the team. The last two games have showcased a Barcelona team that lacks the passing creativity that has become its trademark. The team looks disorganized in the back (it does have major injury problems) but three of the team's defenders were usual starters.

Martino's tactics are seemingly confusing the team as the Barcelona players look to be thinking too much (and slowly) on the pitch and lack the instinct that has carried them for years.

Is this the end of an era? Possibly, but there is still a lot of soccer to be played before ruling on Barcelona's demise. However, the team needs to find its rhythm and quickly with the two Madrid sides growing in confidence and ready to take over the Spanish League lead.