Slick Barcelona put Valencia to the sword in Camp Nou
Barcelona vs Valencia live online: latest updates
Thank you for joining us for the live coverage of what was a very enjoyable affair. Until the next time...
Ernesto Valverde will be absolutely delighted with that. Three points and plenty of positive individual showings to focus on. Ansu Fati will clearly be getting lots of attention - from federations as well as the media - but the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Arthur and Griezmann all deserve an extra mention.
Valencia came into the game under a cloud, and that may have had a bearing on the dominance of their hosts, but they also showed glimpses of what they could offer and Celades can get to work on those aspects over the coming weeks.
Barça's next task is Dortmund in the Champions League. The Germans should pose a tougher test but the Catalans will go into that with their tails up. A Suárez brace as a substitute just another reason to be cheerful at Camp Nou, as they aim to dissolve any ideas of Messi-dependency.
Peep, peep, peeeeeeep! That's it. An impressive performance from Barça see off a generally timid Valencia by five goals to two.
We're going to see out two more minutes
Nice delivery into the area from Vidal, but it's dealt with, just, by the defence.
(Btw Cheryshev was booked a few minutes ago)
As a contest this game is over. Barça are in complete control and Valencia are now just thinking about picking up the pieces after what cannot have been an easy week.
After build up from Rakitic, then Griezmann getting involved, the ball falls to the former Liverpool and Ajax striker. He fires a first time curled drive into the near post, giving Cillessen no chance. Brilliant.
Suárez tries to do that thing that he often does where he runs through a crowd of defenders and somehow has the ball at the end of it. Nothing this time though.
Another recent sub into the book. Gomez for a clumsy/nasty challenge.
Save | Kangin Lee with a speculative effort from wide actually threatened to trouble Ter Stegen's top corner. The German though dealt with it without any problem.
Cheryshev puts Semedo under pressure in the home area but it's too enthusiastic for Señor Sanchez and a free-kick is called.
Close | Busquets tries to get in on the action. His curler from distance doesn't swing back in enough and Cillessen watches it glide past the post. Decent effort.
Rodrigo heads off and Gomez is on for Valencia. At the same time, Arthur swaps with Arturo Vidal.
Parejo tries to feed in both Rodrigo and Gameiro but the blaugrana backline shuts out the space and deny any opening. More changes coming...
De Jong off after an impressive showing. He's replaced by Ivan Rakitic
Immediately, Kangin Lee goes into the book.
Double change | Guedes and Torres off, Cheryshev and Kangin Lee on
The visitors eventually get into Ter Stegen's penalty box but are unable to test the German. Barça step away with the ball.
Triple save | Cillessen called into action multiple times as both Griezmann and Pérez knock hard at the door. Valencia can't get into this second half at all.
The Uruguayan clearly doesn't take long to get a nice edge on his knives. Collecting the ball at the edge of the area he feigns a shot, then curls an inch-perfect effort in off the near post. Impressive return.
Valverde takes of the young star Fati and Luis Suárez gets a chance to work towards match sharpness before Dortmund.
Controlled passing has Valencia pinned into their own third. And the first sub is coming up...
This period of dominance from the hosts has the crowd purring. Griezmann with a little showboating, but he looks very comfortable out there and is proving a fabulous link-up player.
POST | Semedo cuts into the area from the right and, as we all ponder who he'll pass to, the full-back pulls the trigger and is unlucky to see his effort rebound back.
Goal stands. Out of nothing, Griezmann hits a powerful drive through a crowd of players and Cillessen's fumbled save deflects onto the post then back across him. The defender had followed in and gets to tap home.
Fati gets his first involvement of the second half but his chip into the Valencian area is calmly chested back to Cillessen by Garay.
More ball for Los Ches to use, but a lofted pass to the stranded French striker is asking a lot, and Pique tidies up.
The away side kick off and manage to hold onto the ball for the whole of the first minute. The play ends with a decent chance after nice work on the right, Gameiro firing high and over.
Let's go!
It looks as though the players are starting to head out from the tunnel. Hopefully they're all refreshed and raring to go in a similar fashion to that first half. Clearly the Valencia boys will have enjoyed some of their famous oranges for that extra spark of life.
Player average positions first half | As can be seen here, Griezmann (17), De Jong (21) and Arthur (8) have flowed across the pitch (they individual touch maps confirm this). The width provided by Pérez and Fati (as well as Alba and Semedo) has also aided their fluid build up play.
What had looked like a relatively straighforward win for the LaLiga champions, has turned into a bit more of a contest. Valencia have given up (made to by their hosts) much of the possession, but have shown they are capable of causing problems too.
Barça have, at times, been delicious when on the ball in the opposition half. Ansu Fati is a constant threat, while De Jong, Busquets, Arthur and Griezmann have, in particular, linked up play well.
That's it. An entertaining first half comes to an end.
Two minutes of injury time to be played and Barça looking to keep control until the whistle goes.
De Jong touches first half | This shows just how fluid Barça's midfield has been. Getting the Dutchman to move, connect, feed, has aided the chance creation.
Corner from the visitors is hit to the far post and headed back into the mixer. A big German wearing gloves comes out and kills any danger.
Tasty | Ansu Fati in the Valencia area scoops the ball over the defender and almost fashions a great chance to score. He's just a boy playing in the local park with his mates.
Chance, chance, chance | Valencia have three opportunities to grab the equaliser as Gameiro and Rodrigo take swipes. A mixture of mishits and Ter Stegen doing his job sees the scoreline unchanged. Barça's defence looking more and more susceptible.
Semedo finds himself up in the attacking third and puts across a dangerous low ball. Deflection almost took it past Cillessen but the Dutch keeper catches easily enough.
Close | Fati hits from distance again, and catches it cleanly enough. The curler stays just the wrong side of the post. Could the kid be a starter against Dortmund? He's certainly fun to watch.
"Penalty, penalty" scream the Camp Nou crowd, not once but twice in quick succession. Rule book should be mandatory reading for fans before they're allowed into the stadium.
First card of the game goes to Rodrigo after he slices down De Jong. Easy decision.
Finally, the white shirts put a lovely move together, opening up the right flank and then working it back through the centre.
Los Che are chasing shadows at present. Barça with 75% possession and cruising.
Griezmann had some green grass to run into down the right wing but chose to check back. He then does really well to link up a concerted passage of control. Left to right, right to left...and then a sharp pass fired in for Ansu to run onto. Nice tempo about the home side's play.
Chance | Gameiro is set running free through the middle of the Barça defence, which is playing a high line. He gets in front of Semedo but sclaffs (best word for it) his left-footed shot wide of the near post. Very poor!
Close | Fati collects on the left edge of the area, skips inside a tackle or two, and tries his luck. A slight deflection takes the strike just wide of Cillessen's post. Ansu is having fun out there!
Valencia have an opportunity to build some play but as Parejo steps into the opposition half he's smothered and possession switches.
Valencia have dropped deep as Barça work the ball in tidy triangles amongst the front six players. It's all very easy at the moment for the hosts.
Ter Stegen punches the high corner clear and Barça head forward for more.
Barça again look to build but the ball is stolen off them and a neat passage of play from the guests frees Rodrigo down the right. His attempted cross is deflected for a corner.
Alba played in Fati down the left, and faced up against Garay the youngster dropped a shoulder, sprinted past the defender and cut the ball back to a grateful Dutchman. Boom!
Fati is happy to get on the ball as often as possible, and his teammates happy to give him it.
After some celebrating and badge kissing the game is back underway and the home side look to hold onto the ball as long as possible, swinging it from one side of the Valencia half to the other.
The ball was fired low across the box from the right and the 16-year old raced in front of the covering defender and tucked it home with a clean first strike. Wow!
Barça roll the ball back from the centre circle and immediately set off on the attack. Griezmann almost works it out to Pérez on the right but a good interception breaks things up and Valencia head up the right.
We're off!
Right, it's almost time to get this show on the road. The teams are out and ref Jose Sanchez Martinez is about to blow his whistle
The Frenchman is clearly the elder statesman in that Barça attack tonight, at the grand old age of 28. The aforementioned Fati and Carles Pérez have a combined age of only 37!
Griezmann, at least in an Atleti shirt, has a pretty good record against Los Che. In his last six games against them he has scored five and provided two assists. What damage can he do tonight?
Albert Celades will be delighted to see Rodrigo lining up for him tonight. The Spanish forward looked to be heading to the Wanda Metropolitano in the final days of the transfer window but no deal was done. He could be a real thorn in a Barça backline that is without the injured Umtiti.
Marcelino: "I was sacked by Valencia for winning the Copa" (yes, you did read that right. Here's the story)
Barça are clear favourites to take all three points here but lest we forget that just a few months ago it was Los Che who overcame the Blaugrana to lift the Copa del Rey. In the league, however, they've found it slightly more challenging, winning just two of their last 24.
You may also be interested to know that Barça appear to be making quite a habit of scoring just after the break. Four of their last six have come between the whistle and minute 60.
Following that surprise result for Atlético, and the potential for 'new-manager effect', you may be tempted to have a little flutter on Valencia to come away with a win. Those canny bookmakers are offering between 6/1 and 7/1 for that.
We have just over half an hour till kick-off here at the Camp Nou. As always, we'd love to hear your comments on the game so feel free to get in touch using the comments section below.
As you may be aware, the expected* challengers to Barça for the title this season have both already been in action, in what has been a busy day. Real Madrid started sharply against Levante but had a nervy end, holding on for a 3-2 home win. Table toppers Atlético have just lost 2-0 to La Real!
(*some people suggest it may be a less than predictable ride this year)
The Valencia lads have been getting a feel for tonight's surface. They know what happened to Betis here a few weeks ago and will not want to be embarrassed. That said, goalkeeper Cillessen should feel quite at home.
Regarding the missing Messi, there have been some concerns that his recovery didn't happen as expected and he will almost certainly miss the European match.
So, it's another chance for the not-17-till-Halloween Ansu Fati to make an impression. Luis Suárez has recovered enough to make it to the bench, although Valverde may have one eye on the midweek Champions League game against Dortmund so will not want to overwork the Uruguayan.
Valencia XI: Cillessen, Garay, Paulista, Gaya, Parejo, Coquelin, Wass, Gonçalo Guedes, Gameiro, Rodrigo, Torres
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Semedo, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Arthur, De Jong, Perez, Fati, Griezmann
Team news is in. Who has Valverde gone for?...
Today's visitors arrive with the same points tally. A score draw with La Real was followed by defeat in Vigo, before a win finally came at home to Mallorca. A pair of Parejo penalties were needed for that points boost, however, manager Marcelino would soon be shown the exit door. Albert Celades took over on Wednesday, and what a game to get started in the job.
The hosts come into this game having a '1' in each of the win, draw and lose columns. Their opening day defeat against Athletic Club caught the eye but a convincing 5-2 hammering of Betis in game two appeared to revive confidence, especially with new boy Griezmann grabbing a brace. A trip to Pamplona last time out, however, gave the doubters more oxygen, again claiming that Valverde has a dependence on a certain Argentine.
Hello and a very warm welcome to you from wherever in the world you are joining us for live coverage of Barcelona vs Valencia in LaLiga Santander. It's lined up to be a cracker, and there's plenty at stake, even this early in the season...