Three games into the 2015-16 season and one thing is apparent -- this is not the 2014-15 Barcelona side that won three major trophies in a row.

On paper this is the same team, with a few subtractions (most notably Xavi Hernandez), but the reality is that this team has struggled out of the gate in two minor tournaments.

Despite pulling out the victory in the UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona conceded four goals in a contest that it led 4-1 with a half hour remaining on the clock. The last three goals were all differing displays of disorganized defending that this team had not seen since the 2012-13 season. In fact, the last time Barcelona had given up four goals in a match prior to the UEFA Super Cup was the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich back in April of 2013. In that game, Barcelona was struck dead by a team playing fast on the counter, aggressively pressuring in the midfield and disrupting the team's possession game.

That sounds like what Sevilla managed in small doses before succumbing in the waning minutes of extra time. Prior to that the team scored a couple of goals through set pieces, another off a penalty created by a terrible defensive play by Jeremy Mathieu and another scored off a back post pass as the Barcelona defense was caught ball-watching and scrambling for position. The team nearly conceded a few more against Sevilla on similar plays but poor finishing, not great Barcelona performances, bailed out the Catalonian side.

Then Barcelona went and conceded another four goals again, making it two games out of two in 2014-15, after making it two out of two seasons without conceding four goals in a single game.

The game in San Mames on Friday was another matter altogether from the Sevilla game. Barcelona apologists will point to a defensive line made up of bench players, but even they cannot excuse the fact that Athletic Bilbao dominated despite missing four key players on their squad.

What is worse is that the goals conceded against the Basque team were disastrous from every possible angle. The opener was a display of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's immaturity as he headed a ball up the middle of the pitch. Despite his talent and nationality, he is not Manuel Neuer; the Bayern goalie would never have carelessly distributed the ball like that. It was the second such instance of ter Stegen getting caught making a bad pass; the first time he bailed himself out.

The second goal was a display of Barcelona continuing to lose aerial battles while the third and fourth (a penalty) resulted from Dani Alves' worrisome schizophrenic play. The Brazilian was poor in the World Cup last summer and got off to a tough start in 2014-15, his speed lagging behind expectations. He found his form at the close of the year and resigned with the team, securing his future as a major piece on the backend.

On Friday he was the putrid version of himself, making the most basic of mistakes when he fired the ball into the middle of his box on a clearances. The pass was picked off and wound up hitting the twine. The penalty was the result of his making an unnecessary charge on a player nowhere near the ball.

The ensuing game at the Camp Nou was essentially a formality with the Catalan team mounting an attack but ultimately wasting energy on a futile effort. That Bilbao failed to score on some big opportunities speaks to the quality of Claudo Bravo in goal as well as some strong luck. The big moment for Barcelona also featured a defender losing his composure as top defenseman Gerard Pique was sent off for saying something inappropriate to a referee on a non-issue. 

Barcelona has never been a tremendously gifted defensive club, the team's ability to prevent goals coming from its unstoppable possession game. Last season, the team really overwhelmed opposition with a speedier version of its passing style, thus limiting the opportunities going toward their goal and ultimately creating an environment in which Barcelona felt comfortable going in both directions.

The shortcomings were always there, but the intelligence of the players on the pitch helped them overcome any potential issues. Those same players did not suddenly lose that reading of the game. Alves is not a player to make those undisciplined moves. Mathieu, despite being out of position, is not as woeful as the Sevilla game demonstrated. Thomas Vermaelen and Adriano? They sit on the bench for a reason, but even they are not that bad.

The major culprit for Barca's defensive collapse? Fatigue.

The team's major tournament success meant that rest was diminished greatly in the offseason and thus fatigue may be a factor early on. Dani Alves, Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Neymar (who is currently out with the mumps) were all participants in the Copa America; all of them are major starters for the club.

The onus falls on Luis Enrique to figure out a strong rotation policy that allows his top stars the sufficient rest for the long haul that will be the 2015-16 season. While Spanish League rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid get to relax, Barcelona have already played three contests in seven days. Moreover, most of the team's top players have contested two or more of these contests, thus adding wear-and-tear to their fatigued bodies.

Barcelona fans hate looking to rival Real Madrid for advice. But if there is anything to learn from the opposition it is to simply see what overusing top players early on in the season can do to title hopes down the stretch. Real Madrid was flying high at the start of 2014-15, leading La Liga as Barcelona stumbled. Fatigue and injury eventually took over, derailed the team's title hopes and left it trophiless in 2014-15.

Barcelona must avoid it. This is the same group of players that looked invincible a season ago. Most of those players are in their primes, so it is essential that Luis Enrique rest his guys in order to help them avoid the mental blunders of the past few games.