Yes, true, i remember last season very well, a truly exceptional one from Barcelona. This year doesn't seem to have started very well, but the players are probably tired; they also played in the Club World Cup and are certainly exhausted. i Think
Are you sure you follow football? Barcelona didn't participate in the Club World Cup. Real and Atletico participated from Spain. Barcelona have been on holiday, but apparently this holiday hasn't done them any good so far. However, this doesn't stop bookmakers from estimating Barcelona's chances of winning the title as 1.83, while Real Madrid are rated at 2.0.
The funny thing is that Athletic's chances are now rated higher than Atletico's - 1 to 41 versus 1 to 51.