Barcelona got their La Liga season off to a winning start on Sunday, beating Real Betis 2-0 at a emotional Camp Nou following a pair of terrorist attacks in Catalonia.
Captain Lionel Messi led by example with Gerard Deolofeu and Paco Alcacer struggling to fill Suarez and Neymar’s shoes up front.
Messi smashed an early free-kick off the post and his presence was enough to pressure Alin Tosca to turn Deoulofeu’s low cross into his own net for the opener nine minutes before half-time.
Deulofeu was the provider once more when Barca doubled their advantage three minutes later as Sergi Roberto slotted home from close range.
Here’s our two good and two bad performances from the Camp Nou.
TWO GOOD
SERGI ROBERTO
Barcelona’s key man alongside Lionel Messi.
The Manchester United target was a totemic presence all evening and weighed in with a superb goal to double Barcelona’s advantage just before the break.
Gerard Deulofeu came bounding down along the by-line, cut inside and slipped a cleverly weighed ball into the path of Sergi who netted from eight yards.
When provided with the space, the Spaniard was lethal and showed his intelligence with solid passing and movement to help seal three points for Ernesto Valverde’s men.
NELSON SEMEDO
Another trademark performance from the young Portuguese defender, who will surely create plenty of goals as the season progresses.
He was like a terrier bounding forward and was always hungry to get on the ball.
Made some important interventions as Barcelona held on for an easy win.
Barcelona’s Portuguese defender Nelson Semedo.
TWO BAD
ALIN TOSCA
Struggled to contain the strong running of Deulofeu and Sergi throughout the contest – and was unfortunate to be caught on the end of an intended pass to Messi which resulted in an own goal by the Romanian.
It’s harsh to say he looked out of his depth but wasn’t helped by the inconsistent Zouhair Feddal who was meant to be the fulcrum of the Betis defence.
NAHUEL LEIVA
One of the poorest performers at the Camp Nou.
Nothing seemed to go right for the young Argentine who squandered possession on a number of occasions and couldn’t spark any breakthrough for the away side.
A tough match was expected, but the 20-year-old has to step up his performance.