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Barcelona traveled to Levante as they looked to extend their lead at the top of the table. The Catalan side claimed a comfortable 5-0 win, led by the irrepressible Lionel Messi.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring when Messi picked him out in the first half with an unbelievable pass. Messi added the second with a finish from close range before making it 3-0 from Jordi Alba's pass.
The Argentine completed his hat-trick with a tap-in, and Gerard Pique rounded off the scoring with a late goal.
Levante finished the game with 10 men, as Erick Cabaco was sent off in the second half for a challenge on Ousmane Dembele. It was a comfortable victory for the Catalans, as they moved three points clear of Sevilla at the top of the LaLiga table. (Sevilla's win earlier had meant that they had drawn level with Barcelona).
Let's take a look at the major talking points from the game.
#5 Messi and Barcelona hand out a lesson in raw efficiency
The game started out evenly, and for a while Levante were putting pressure on the Barcelona midfield and defence. Then Messi took charge.
He picked out Luis Suarez courtesy of those eyes at the back of his head, and the Uruguayan finished clinically with a fierce volley.
Messi doubled the lead soon when he latched on to Sergio Busquets' pass to finish with his right foot.
Levante looked shocked by Barca's ruthlessness, and the same continued after the half-time interval. Messi made it 3-0 from Jordi Alba's cross, before completing his hat-trick with a tap-in to round off a flowing team move.
Gerard Pique got into the act as well when he made it 5-0 late on. Who got the assist? That man Messi again.
The Argentine had a say in all the five goals on the night. Barca had 9 shots on target, scoring from 5 of them. Some efficiency, right?
#4 Injuries force Valverde to try something new
Barca have been plagued by injuries in recent weeks, and their defence in particular has suffered. The likes of Arthur, Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez have recovered, but the backline is still missing some key components.
Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto are out with long-term injuries, and Nelson Semedo was sidelined prior to the game. This forced Valverde to innovate in his lineup, and he deployed a 3-5-2 formation against Levante.
Ousmane Dembele and Jordi Alba were in the wide positions, as Busquets, Vidal, and Rakitic made up the midfield trio.
While attacking, the formation resembled a 3-4-3, which was not unlike what Pep Guardiola used in his last year at the club. Messi had a free role as he spearheaded a midfield diamond, with Luis Suarez ahead of him.
Valverde probably won't have to revert to this system much, but it worked for Barca nonetheless.
#3 The clean sheets are rolling in for Barcelona
The attack has been flowing for Valverde, but it is at the back where the problems have persisted. Barcelona have scored a league-high 46 goals, but their 19 goals conceded have been bettered by many.
They have claimed just five clean sheets in the league, and three of those have come in the last three games. Things finally seem to be shaping up for them defensively, which is a huge boost.
Conceding sloppy goals was commonplace earlier in the season, but they have tightened at the back recently.
Even though they were scoring goals, improving the defense was a priority for Valverde. Ter Stegen pulled off a great save in the closing stages to preserve the clean sheet, and that meant a lot for the defence.
If they can keep this up, Barcelona will be a force in Europe and domestically as the season progresses.
#2 Levante's performance did not deserve that scoreline
Levante have played some great football this season under Paco Lopez, and they weren't too bad against Barcelona. They pressed well and posed a substantial attacking threat, but came up short against a ruthless opponent.
The first chance of the game fell to Levante, as Emmanuel Boateng thundered the crossbar from close range. They took more shots than Barca, and Ter Stegen had to be alert to deny them.
Wing-backs Ousmane Dembele and Jordi Alba were quite advanced, and Levante breached those gaps, but not to the effect they would have wanted.
After the weekend's results, Levante dropped two places down to eighth. Only three sides have scored more league goals than Lopez's side, which is now three points off the European places.
Despite the drubbing by Barca, they can be hopeful of finishing in those places come the end of the season.
#1 What has happened to Philippe Coutinho?
When Barcelona paid £142 million for Philippe Coutinho in January, it seemed obvious that he would become a key component of their team sooner rather than later. The Brazilian has starred for Barca at times, but he is still not guaranteed a starting berth at this juncture.
Earlier in the season, it looked as though he had cemented his spot in the XI, but Ousmane Dembele has usurped that in recent weeks. Arturo Vidal and Arthur are ahead of him in the pecking order for midfield positions, and so Coutinho was on the bench against Levante.
He has started just one of the last four games for Barcelona, and arguably, they have not missed him.
With the quality he possesses, Coutinho is sure to play a role in Barcelona's season. But, worryingly for him, it could be a bit part one based on the current situation.
