La Liga holders Barcelona welcomed Levante to Camp Nou in their first match of the league season on Sunday.
The home side were six goals ahead at the interval with Alexis Sanchez, Lionel Messi (2) Daniel Alves, Pedro and Xavi finding the back of the net in an utterly dominant half of football.
Levante improved defensively after the break, but they could not keep a clean sheet in the second period as Pedro added his second with 20 minutes remaining.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.
Match statistics:
Barcelona:
Shots: 17
On target: 13
Possession: 78%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 12
Levante:
Shots: 2
On target: 0
Possession: 22%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 16
Was the result fair?
There isn't any possible situation where anything other than a dominant Barcelona victory would have reflected what was seen this evening. Levante did not register a single attempt in the first period and were barely in the opposing half. They improved defensively in the second period, but were simply unable to hurt Barcelona down the other end.
Barcelona's performance
The most pleasing aspect for new boss Gerardo Martino would be that five different scorers were among the goals this evening. Meanwhile, six of their seven strikes arrived following a wonderful spell of passing, rather than a moment of individual brilliance. There is no question that there will be tougher tests ahead, but what an incredible opening to the new La Liga season!
Levante's performance
I think it would be fair to state that how Levante fare this season will not be down to their results at places such as Camp Nou. On this performance, it is difficult to believe that they finished in mid-table last season, but credit must be given to Barcelona for the way they utterly dictated the entire 90 minutes. It is important that they do not dwell on this result ahead of their clash with Sevilla next weekend.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Cesc Fabregas: Manchester United boss David Moyes is reportedly preparing one final bid for the Spanish midfielder. Well, the Scot will have to come up with something special to convince Barcelona to sell. Fabregas was just stunning throughout the 90 minutes, with the 26-year-old assisting five of their seven goals.
Biggest gaffe of the match
When you are 4-0 down in the latter stages of the first period against Barcelona, the last thing you need is to give away a needless penalty. Well, that was the case when Pedro Lopez decided to stand on Adriano's heel, presenting Messi with the opportunity to score his second of the match from the spot.
Referee performance
The biggest compliment that one could pay Carlos del Cerro is that the Spaniard was barely seen throughout the 90 minutes. He could and perhaps should have issued a couple of yellow cards in the first period, but he used common sense when evaluating each challenge. Referees are often criticised, but Del Cerro should be praised for his performance this evening.
What next?
Barcelona: The Calatan outfit travel to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, before travelling to Malaga in the league next weekend.
Levante: Levante return to their home ground next weekend as they host Sevilla in the league.
Matt Law
