La Liga 2017/18: Barcelona 2-0 Malaga, 5 talking points

What was expected to be a walk in the park for the La Liga leaders proved to be anything but as 20th placed Malaga tested their resolve for the greater part of the game only to have fortune swing it in the Catalan's favour.

Some bizarre officiating in the second minute of the match led to Deulofeu opening the scoring for La Blaugrana when Lucas Digne set him up in the box after the ball had clearly crossed the touchline and should have ended in a goal-kick.

Messi then freed up Iniesta in the box and the Spanish maestro doubled their lead in the 56th minute as his left-footed strike took a deflection off of Rosales and sailed over Prieto into the right top corner. Luis Suarez missed a sitter in the 74th minute but the game ended 2-0 as Malaga couldn't pull even one back but it was not for the lack of trying.

Here's what we learnt from the game.

#5. Leo Messi and Iniesta are indispensable to this Barca team

Messi and Iniesta celebrate after the second goal

In a team that can go on for long spells playing insipid football, Leo Messi and Iniesta are the only consistent creative sparks. Their ability on the ball is unrivalled and be it Messi's bursts of space combined with his silky manoeuvres or Iniesta's vision and composure, Barcelona will look like an average side but for these two.

Messi tried to free Suarez with a spectacular lofted ball in the 40th minute and it almost worked but for Luis Hernandez's brilliant intervention. Later, it was Messi who set up Iniesta's goal with a bustling run down the centre before carefully and neatly picking out the Spaniard in space.

Iniesta's shoulder drops and turns were often too much to handle for Malaga and even though he has lost his pace, the Spanish midfield maestro is still a fine player who can dictate the direction of a game with the amount of flair he brings to the table.

#4. Malaga unlucky to go behind but put up a spirited performance nonetheless

It took just 2 minutes for Barcelona to get on the scoresheet as Deulofeu tapped in from a Digne cross. All was fine except for the ball had already gone out of play before Digne served it into the corridor of uncertainty.

It was a bizarre error and something that can strip a team off all the spirit with which they show up for a game as big as this one. But instead of filing their resignation, Michel's men showed great character and pressed high and deep into the Barcelona half.

They were compact in defence and often posed difficult questions to the Barcelona defence and attack as the Catalans found it hard to push the ball into the attacking third. Malaga kept their shape and rendered most of Barcelona's attacks in the first half invalid.

Luis Hernandez put in an awe-inspiring shift at centreback and often chipped in with valuable clearances and even got ahead and his header, from a free kick in the 74th minute, flew just wide off the mark.

#3. Barcelona lack quality on the flanks

Yes, this has to be said. True, Gerard Deulofeu scored from a Lucas Digne cross but who are we kidding? That was down to some incompetent refereeing more than anything.

Deulofeu is a hard worker but he is not yet at a level where he can bully defenders or run them ragged. Valverde's decision to move Messi to the centre has paid dividends- that's for sure- but taking him off the wings and losing Neymar to PSG has stripped Barcelona off their riches on the wings.

For large parts of the game, the Barca midfielders were passing the ball around trying to free up the wingers but the lack of quality was evident as nothing that proved to be really threatening emanated from the wings.

However, things took a turn for the better after Semedo was introduced for Deulofeu and Roberto took over the right winger's role. Sergi Roberto's acceleration is astounding at times and he created 2 really good chances- the first of which was botched by Luis Suarez.

Valverde has every reason to look forward to the return of Ousmane Dembele and Jordi Alba.

#2. Malaga was wasteful in front of goal and that needs to stop

It would have been a very different night if Malaga were clinical in front of goal

For a team languishing at the rock bottom of the table, Malaga worried the league leaders a bit too much. Michel's men were entertaining to watch as they kept asking questions to the Barcelona's defence.

ter Stegen was brought into play way more often than Prieto was and this is evidence to the fact that Barcelona didn't even come close to steamrolling their opponents- something which almost everyone predicted would happen.

Malaga pressed high up the pitch and broke quickly on the counter and created several chances. But their finishing was off the mark as they missed the game's best chances- 2 crosses from either wing- the first one by Rolan which was missed by Chory and the second by Rosales which was skied by Rolan.

They have no room for profligacy in front of goal at the moment and will need to be clinical if they're to get anything out of a season that's been as cruel and unforgiving as any.

#1. Luis Suarez misfires yet again

Luis Suarez missing one of the best chances of the game

It looks like something we're going to have to come to terms with- we may not see the Luis Suarez of old anymore. Drifting in and out of games and hardly ever popping up in threatening domains, the Uruguayan seems to have parted ways with his golden touch.

There were glimpses of his old self, like when he pulled off a spectacular turn to break free into the box after Rakitic found him on the edge of the box. But he fluffed the chance from there.

But the most worrying sign came in the 74th minute. Roberto got to the end of a Messi through ball and forayed into the box with an inspiring run. He drew two defenders away to the left side and squared the ball to Luis Suarez who missed the open goal from just outside the 6-yard box.

He merely had to pass the ball into the net and ended up missing the target in what could be one of the misses of the season. Sure, Barcelona are still undefeated in the league but if their hitman is going to continue being ineffective in front of goal, results are going to be hard to come by.