With Neymar otherwise engaged in the task of helping his country to an Olympic gold medal, Barcelona were denied the services of their record-setting MSN strike force forSaturday’s La Liga opener.
But even in the absence of the flamboyant Brazilian, Barca still had more to offer.
With six goals thumped past hapless Real Betis, the reigning champions gave birth to a new frontline acronym: MAS – Messi, Arda and Suarez – which, handily, translates from Spanish as ‘more’.
Messi was almost beyond description and Suarez, last season’s leading scorer in Spain, started where he had finished with yet another hat-trick, but it was the contribution of the third man, Arda Turan, which is perhaps the best news for Barca fans as they celebrate their team’s ability to deliver ‘more’.
This is a crucial season for the Turkish international, who consistently delivered sparkling football during his four-year stay with Atletico Madrid but was notably underwhelming in his first season at Barcelona.
More accurately, Turan was disappointing during his first half-season at the Nou Camp, and therein perhaps lies the explanation for his struggles in adapting to life with his new club.
First goal ✌✌#FCBBetis @ArdaTuran pic.twitter.com/HtRxaRifF9
— Houssem (@omgHoussem) August 20, 2016
Although Turan joined Barca during the summer of 2015, due to the club’s transfer ban handed down by UEFA he was unable to make his debut for six months.
By then, everyone else was already into the thick of the season, accustomed to the rhythms of playing competitive games twice a week and in tune with the movement and tempo of their teammates.
When you also consider the elite technical excellence of the players around him, it’s perhaps no surprise that Turan, coming in from the cold, looked lost – as did, not uncoincidentally, his fellow January new boy Aleix Vidal.
Arda Turan in 2015-16: Two goals in 25 games
— Ben Hayward (@bghayward) August 20, 2016
Arda Turan in 2016-17: Three goals in three games
Transformation
But that difficult first season is now in the past, and Turan has the chance to start afresh. It is a chance he must take – sections of the Catalan media and fanbase were open to the idea of selling the Turk this summer, and if he underperforms again this season will almost certainly be his last with Barcelona.
The early signs, though, have been excellent: a brilliant chest-down for Suarez to score in the Super Cup at Sevilla, two goals in the rematch and now the opening goal, along with a very bright all-round performance, in the league opening trashing of Betis.
If this form continues, Barca have got themselves another world-class performer.
