Barcelona would appear to be playing a very dangerous game at present. What’s more, it’s a game that they’ve played before — and lost.

The Catalans’ very own version of Russian roulette: “Messi-dependence”.

Phraseology denoting that La Blaugrana are seemingly incapable of getting through 90 minutes without their star man Lionel Messi.

What other explanation is there for why he would be playing this past weekend, when he quite clearly wasn’t fit for duty for the two weeks prior to the Celta Vigo game?

The signings of Neymar and Luis Suarez were supposed to alleviate the burden on Barca and Argentina’s finest and in many respects they have.

But…

With four of the biggest games of the season taking place within the next fortnight, why did Luis Enrique feel the need to rely upon Messi? Rely upon the services of a player who has played more than any other Barca player this season bar Claudio Bravo? What did it actually achieve?

Celta aren’t exactly La Liga’s whipping boys, granted, but Barca’s recent record at Balaidos stands up to scrutiny and arguably gave the Catalans the perfect opportunity to rest Messi, leaving him fresh for their most important games.

It’s inconceivable, given Barca’s previous experience at exactly this stage of the season (in 2013), that they would gamble on Messi’s fitness and subsequently the club’s own push for silverware.

At the business end of that particular campaign, Messi was obviously fatigued and his form began to tail off as a result. Being sick on the pitch playing for Argentina against Bolivia, at altitude, didn’t help his or Barcelona’s cause either.

With PSG on the horizon in the Champions League quarter-finals (sound familiar?), and Barca streaking away with a La Liga that they had led from start to finish, the decision was still made to play Messi against Celta. A draining 2-2 draw against a side that would only just avoid relegation no doubt contributed to Messi’s early withdrawal in the first leg against the French.

The make-up of the Barca side now is such that a first eleven sans Messi should still be more than capable of getting the results required.

By continuing to utilise him however, Luis Enrique is effectively suggesting that he doesn’t trust Neymar, Suarez and Iniesta et al to do the business in Messi’s absence.

Fortunately Barca’s number 10 and talisman came through the fixture unscathed, but that rather misses the point.

If lightning does strike twice, then Barcelona will only have themselves to blame.

— The writer is a freelance journalist and Spanish football expert