For the tenth straight season, Barcelona began their La Liga campaign with a win, this time blowing Alaves out of the water to the tune that the final score doesn’t do it justice. While Barcelona struggled to break through Alaves’ defense for most of the opening hour of play, the floodgates opened after a moment of Lionel Messi magic from a free kick midway through the second half. Philippe Coutinho added an insurance marker before Messi would add another at the death.
Barcelona started their first La Liga match of the season with a largely expected starting eleven.