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#3 Absence of Luis Suarez provides further credence to his Barcelona departure rumours
For the second game running, Ronald Koeman did not include striker Luis Suarez in his team in what could be construed as a major pointer that the Uruguayan's time with Barcelona could be up.
Koeman had reportedly told the Uruguayan international that he is one of four players unwanted at the club, with Juventus among several sides linked with Suarez.
In Suarez's absence, both Messi and Griezmann have led the Barcelona line in the club's first two games of the off-season,which could be a strong pointer towards Koeman's plans for his forward line.
#2 La Masia youngsters impress
Ronald Koeman named a strong starting lineup for the clash with Girona by including regulars like Frenkie de Jong, Messi, Griezmann, Busquets and Gerard Pique.
However, with an hour gone, the Dutch manager made a slew of changes, with nine of the ten outfield players (except Rafel Araujo) all taken out and replaced by mostly La Masia hopefuls. Most of these youngsters took maximum advantage of their time on the field and made an impact.
Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati already have regular experience of playing with the Barcelona first-team. Perhaps buoyed by the exploits of the duo last season, their fellow academy graduates made the most of their limited opportunity.
One of them was Konrad de la Fuenta who made some intelligent running and constantly linked well with Pedri; the pair may consider themselves unlucky not to have gotten on the scoresheet.
Considering their promising performances, Ronald Koeman would surely be promoting some of these players to the senior team in the coming months, and that would be no less than what they deserve.
#1 Lionel Messi is the difference maker once again
It seems like eons ago when Lionel Messi dropped the bombshell that he wanted to leave Barcelona, but thankfully, the dust has settled on what could have blown into an ugly and protracted saga.
Fans of the club were shaken at Messi's initial annoucement and rightly so, as without their talismanic skipper, the Blaugrana are only a little above ordinary.
Having started out as the focal point of the forward line in Barcelona's last game, Messi was deployed on the right-side, and it was from this position that he wrecked havoc on the Girona defence.
The Barcelona captain combined brilliantly with Trincao to set Coutinho for the opener before helping himself to a brace.
The first of his two finishes surprisingly came from outside the box and off his weaker right foot, but that took nothing away from the spectacular finish that went in off the post after he spun his way round a defender. His second was a rather fortuitous one as it went in off a heavy deflection off Bernado.
All in all, it was another Man-of-the-Match performance from the Rosario native, reminding everyone why Barcelona fans were keen to see their captain remain at the club.
