Barcelona player ratings: Lionel Messi is a maestro but Ousmane Dembele is erratic

Here, we rate both sides as Ernesto Valverde’s side kicked off their defence with a comfortable victory.

BARCELONA 4-4-2

Ter Stegen 6. No serious saves to make, but he dealt with a couple of crosses well. One loose pass out from the back.

Semedo 6. Strong in defence and adventurous coming forward. Pretty unlucky to be substituted at half-time when Valverde became more aggressive.

Umtiti 7. Dominated opposing striker Sobrino in the air and was more than a match for anything Alaves could throw in his direction.

Pique 7. Made a good intervention to deny Sobrino a shot from Gomez’s cross and, like Umtiti, he looked untroubled all night.

Alba 7. Doesn’t yet enjoy a telepathic connection with Dembele but still made some dangerous incursions into the box, especially after the break.

Busquets 6. Played a little more advanced than usual, appears to be have been given more responsibility for creating by Valverde.

Roberto 6. A couple of heavy early touches and this wasn’t his night. Attempted to offer penetration inside the box and improved after moving to right-back.

Rakitic 6. Unusually stationed on the left of the midfield trio. Played a good early ball over the top for Messi but otherwise restrained.

Dembele 6. Always looked dangerous but erratic end product. Poor finish with a big first half chance and was replaced in the second half.

Messi 9. Dragged an early right-footed shot wide, hit the bar with a brilliant free-kick, released several killer passes and scored twice. Maestro.

Suarez 6. Still struggling to find his rhythm, producing some heavy touches, but never stopped trying and assisted Messi’s second goal with great pass.

SUBSTITUTES

Coutinho 8. Came on at half-time and instantly added an attacking spark, looking to create on the edge of the box and netting a great goal.

Arthur 6. Appeared for the last 15 minutes to shore up the midfield, and did a tidy enough job on his league debut.

Vidal 6. Received a big ovation when he appeared late on and immediately showed his greatest quality by winning a tackle to spark an attack.

ALAVES 4-5-1

Pacheco 8. Decent save from Dembele in the first half and more good stops from Alba, Suarez, Coutinho and Messi in the second half.

Martin 6. Vulnerable against Dembele but stuck at it. Made a key block to deny Messi clean route through. Didn’t even try to attack.

Laguardia 7. Directed the back four with authority and showed excellent anticipation, also strong and swift in the challenge before tiring late on.

Maripan 7. Made a good clearance from Alba cross and did really well to deny Suarez in the second half. Solid performance all round.

Duarte 6. Played physically on Messi, watching his man well to close down space. Poor use of ball and didn’t get forward at all.

Wakaso 6. Worked hard in midfield and did a sensible containing job, but his use of the ball was frequently very poor.

Torres 6. Snapped into challenges, with too much aggression when he was booked for fouling Busquets. Taken off when Barca went ahead.

Garcia 6. Disciplined display from the visiting skipper on the left of the central midfield trio. Closed down Rakitic and Roberto well.

Gomez 6. An occasional threat down the right, looking Alaves’s most dangerous attacker. Didn’t always track Alba’s runs as well as he should.

Jony 5. Tried to lead Alaves’s attacks down the left but had little joy against Semedo. Substituted midway through the second half.

Sobrino 5. Sent a difficult header wide in the first half but made little impression. Came off with an apparent hamstring injury.

SUBSTITUTES 

Baston 5. Became a second man in attack as Alaves pushed for a leveller but had little impact as he received little service.

Marin 5. Played the final stages down the left wing but couldn’t get the better of Roberto and offered little threat.

Burgui 5. Former Real Madrid and Espanyol forward welcomed by jeers from home fans, and that was the last we saw of him.