Barcelona 3-0 Alavés LaLiga gameweek 1: match report
Messi opened his account with two and Coutinho started the season well too as Barcelona beat Alavés with three second half goals at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona 2-0 Alavés: match report
Barcelona were treated to a guard of honour as the reigning LaLiga champions ahead of their opening fixture against Alavés at the Camp Nou on Saturday night. What came after was far from a victory parade, however, as the visitors frustrated them deep into the second half when Lionel Messi eventually broke the deadlock.
Ernesto Valverde started Sergi Roberto in midfield and left Malcom, Arturo Vidal and Arthur on the bench along with Clement Lenglet and Phillippe Coutinho as he selected a more safe and less creative eleven to start their campaign.
It was all too stagnant from the home side however, as they were too easily repelled by Alavés. Fernando Pacheco brought his A game and Luis Suarez didn't. Messi tried and Dembele looked sharp on occasion but they were left empty-handed after 45 minutes.
After that first half of frustration, which included Messi hitting the underside of the crossbar, Valverde acted.
He took off Nelson Semedo, replaced him with Coutinho and sent Roberto to right-back in the hope the Brazilian had the match to light a fire under his midfield and attack.
The inspiration did come in the second half and it was from a more familiar source than Coutinho -- although there would be time for him to weave his magic later in the half.
Lionel Messi slotted a free-kick that he won under Alaves' wall to give Barcelona a deserved lead after 64 minutes. They all jumped to prevent it from going into the top corner, which they managed, but instead it rolled into the bottom one as Pacheco looked on.
Messi hit the bar shortly after and while Alavés did have a couple of quarter chances, Barcelona were liberated after the Messi goal. Coutinho cut inside after 83 minutes and scored a trademark strike as he buried it beyond Pacheco, who had no chance.
The Argentine made it 3-0 with the last kick of the game when he took down a long ball into the box and rolled it past Pacheco to cap another man of the match performance as he made the almost impossible look like the most natural thing in the world.
Barcelona were comfortable throughout even though there were moments when the goal felt like it would never came. They were flat at times and were fluid at others, underperforming and winning with ease all at once. The guard of honour was a nice touch from Alavés but they'll have to improve massively if they want another one at the start of next season.
Barcelona vs Alavés live online: live updates
Barcelona vs Alavés live online: match preview
Barcelona start the defence of their league title on Saturday night with a game against Alavés, who are the last visiting team to win at the Camp Nou as Ernesto Valverde pointed out in his press conference ahead of the game. The game kicks off at 22:15 CEST from Barcelona with plenty of intrigue in both dugouts. Barcelona have signed plenty of creative players this summer and Abelardo Fernández is embarking on his first full season at the helm for Alavés.
There has been plenty of turnover at the Camp Nou this summer with Andrés Iniesta, Paulinho, Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal, Yerry Mina and André Gomes all leaving for pastures anew from Merseyside to China. Meanwhile, they have been replaced by the likes of Clement Lenglet, Malcom, Arthur and Arturo Vidal, who are all in the matchday squad for Alavés' visit. Denis Suárez, Carles Aleña and Sergi Samper are all out of the matchday squad but manager Ernesto Valverde has a full complement of players to tackle their first hurdle in LaLiga.
Alavés lost Munir to Barcelona in the summer as his loan ended with the club from Vitoria. John Guidetti made his loan move from Celta Vigo permanent in the summer and they also signed tricky winger, Patrick Twumasi, from Astana. Munir is out of Barcelona's squad as his old side visit. Alavés might end up fighting relegation this year and travelling to Barcelona is not an easy start but they might fancy their hopes of catching the reigning league champions on the hop. They've done it before.