Barcelona could return to La Liga's Champions League spots for the first time in four months on Saturday as the beginnings of a recovery under Xavi Hernandez appear finally to be taking shape.
Barca are unbeaten in five games ahead of their trip to Granada this weekend, even if the 15-point gap to Real Madrid serves as a painful reminder of the long road that still lies ahead.
Narrow wins over Linares Deportivo of Spain's third tier, Mallorca and Elche, to go with draws with Sevilla and Osasuna, might not, until very recently, have been taken as a sign of progress at Camp Nou.
But for a team that last month were sitting ninth in the table, there is at least a sense now that a youthful Barcelona side are starting to turn a corner. Performances have been encouraging, with last weekend's 1-0 grind against Mallorca particularly noteworthy for its resilience as a patched-up team, deprived of eight players due to Covid, held on for a gutsy victory.
Optimism is being harnessed off the pitch too, with the club's president Joan Laporta this week determined to drive home the message that Barcelona's revival is now in full flow.
"Everyone should get ready because we're back, and with the desire to do good things," Laporta said at the presentation of new signing, Ferran Torres, on Monday. "We've got our status back. The resurgence of Barcelona is a reality."
