VfB Stuttgart 0-3 Barcelona: 5 talking points as Memphis Depay strikes again in routine friendly win | Club friendlies 2021

Barcelona continued their winning run in pre-season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart in Germany.

Goals from Memphis Depay, Yusuf Demir and Riqui Puig got the job done for the Catalans, who've now won all three of their friendlies.

Ronald Koeman's side were firmly in control of the match in the first-half and, despite a host of changes after the break, never looked like ceding their advantage.

New signing Depay opened the account with a sublime goal before Griezmann teed up Demir for the second following another wonderful team move.

Barcelona's estranged youngster Puig then came off the bench and added further gloss to the scoreline with a confident finish from close-range.

Die Roten never put up a challenge in the match and finished with zero shots on target and just 34% possession.

Here are the major talking points from the Mercedes-Benz Arena:

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#1 Depay is already giving reasons to get excited about the new season

Depay was on target for Barcelona again

Memphis Depay is shaping up well for his first season at Barcelona. He was on target in their first pre-season game last week from the penalty spot and tonight scored a peach of a goal.

De Jong floated an excellent over-the-top cross for the Dutchman, who controlled the ball superbly before evading his marker with a pristine touch and then firing a sublime effort into the back of the net.

The 27-year-old looked sharp once again and held the ball up superbly in the first-half, giving Stuttgart's defense a hard time.

His energetic and lively performances already have the Barcelona fans excited for the 2021-22 season. But there's another important narrative surrounding Depay that came out of this match.

More on that ahead.

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#2 Stuttgart were never in the match

Stuttgart never really called Neto into action

It's true that VFB Stuttgart were missing in most of their regular stars. But even then, their performances lacked bite and were completely run over by their Spanish counterparts.

In the first-half especially, it was all Barcelona, keeping possession and passing the ball around quickly, before someone would make a hopeful punt in the box looking for Depay.

Although the match receded after the break, Die Roten couldn't quite work out a clear opening, but saw Manuel Polster (twice) and Mateo Klimowicz attempt two half-chances which flew harmlessly wide off target.

The match ended with Stuttgart having only 34% of the possession and making three shots at goal, none of which were on target.

#3 Depay-Griezmann link-up was a joy to watch

Depay and Griezmann linked-up to devastating effect for Barcelona

Here's the other exciting thing we saw in the match - Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann linking up brilliantly, especially in the first-half.

The communication between the players was as if they'd been playing with each other for years, while the two combined superbly for the second goal too.

Depay was once again a menace with his super hold-up play before releasing Griezmann with an exquisite backheel pass as the Frenchman then set up Demir for his goal.

Obviously, the dynamics will change once Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero enter the fray too, but fans will be hoping to see more of this in the season proper as this partnership could go a long way.

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#4 Fabian Bredlow gave Stuttgart fans something to cheer

Bredlow produced a moment of real quality in the second-half for Stuttgart

Not everything was doom and gloom for Stuttgart. Their goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow produced an immaculate save in the second-half which solicited the loudest cheer of the match.

A superb counterattacking move from Barcelona in the 80th minute ended with substitute Rey Manaj receiving the ball inside the area and had only Bredlow to beat.

However, his one-on-one effort was superbly kept out by the shot-stopper's outstretched leg in a reflex save which got the home fans off their seats.

The only real moment of quality from the German outfit tonight.

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#5 So far so good for Barcelona

Barcelona have looked perfectly okay in the pre-season so far

Without drawing any conclusions or getting too ahead of ourselves, let's just admit Barcelona have been impressive so far.

Tonight, especially against a better opponent than the previous two clashes, they got everything right and were firmly in control of the match.

Young guns like Gavi, Rey Manaj and Riqui Puig put up a decent showing too while new arrivals, especially Depay, are giving a good impression of themselves.

So far so good for Ronald Koeman and co. Now waiting for Messi and Aguero to return to action. That'd be more epic.