Barcelona 1-0 Real Valladolid: 5 Hits and Flops

#2 Hit: Lionel Messi

Messi - who scored and missed a penalty - was Barcelona's brightest spark yet again

Usually, when someone has 12 shots, is dispossessed the same amount of times and almost gets himself sent off, they'd be in the flop column. Just like Anuar was, Lionel Messi is a special exception to the rule again.

The 31-year-old had a poor game in front of goal, he'd be the first to tell you that himself. Whether it was near misses that flashed past the post, wild efforts or tame shots that Masip gratefully smothered, his decision-making was often erratic.

He almost felt the need to go it alone from deep midfield areas and dribble beyond the Valladolid backline, but you couldn't blame him. Ousmane Dembélé flattered to deceive while it's clear Kevin-Prince Boateng hasn't yet built up enough cohesion to move in sync with his teammates during their attacking moves at speed.

However, he was ultimately the matchwinner: making no mistake with a fierce penalty, slamming hard into the bottom right-hand corner to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time.

Aware that he was having an off-night in regards to his shooting, Lionel was keen to tee up his teammates - a game-high eight key passes - but the likes of Dembele and substitute Luis Suarez couldn't deliver a killer goal before he returned to the spot and saw his second effort well-saved by Masip.

Booked for dissent after a poor tackle on him, he was fortunate to stay on (committed four fouls in 90'), but did precisely enough to drag his team through a testing evening's work.