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#1 Barcelona make a statement without Lionel Messi
Despite all the weaknesses that Madrid possessed, Barcelona exposed them and hit them where it hurts. Luis Suarez was on red-hot form coming into this game and he continued the stuff. Suarez ran all over the Madrid defence and finished the game with a hat-trick. It wasn’t just Suarez though. Suarez replaced Messi’s goals. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba demolished the flanks of Madrid and they just didn’t give an inch in the defence.
Pique and Lenglet held their defences when Real Madrid was pouring attacks on for almost the starting 15 minutes in the second half. Dembele and Semedo impressed when they came on. The midfield of Barcelona was on song. The telepathy of Rakitic, Arthur and Busquets looked very close to the legendary Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets midfield. Phillipe Coutinho was brilliant in the left wing till being taken off.
Barcelona won this game as a unit. Even deciding the man of the match is very tough in this game. Suarez scored, Rakitic and Arthur controlled the midfield, Busquets was a pivot, Alba and Roberto used pace to perfection. This is an all-around Barcelona team, something that was missing last season. And they did all this, without their best player.
When Messi returns, this team will only get better. It is too early to speak but these are characteristics of a treble-winning team, something Barcelona isn’t new to, and something they expect to achieve each season.
