Lionel Messi stole the headlines again with a hat-trick as Barcelona breezed past Levante to stay top of La Liga.
There are no prizes for guessing who gets our man of the match nomination, but who else shone and flopped?
Find out here…
LEVANTE XI
Oier 6. Got a hand to Suarez’s goal and made decent low saves from Suarez and Denis in one on one situations.
Cabaco 5. Aggressive in the challenge – far too much so with 15 minutes remaining, when he was sent off for flattening Dembele.
Postigo 5. Struggled with the movement of Suarez and was taken off when Levante switched to a flat back four towards the end.
Rober 6. Probably the best of Levante’s back three, although he was unable to stop Messi’s run for his first goal.
Jason 6. Patrolled the right wing with purpose during the early stages, but ended up losing his personal battle with Alba.
Rochina 6. Threatened occasionally by cutting inside onto his strong left foot, but gave away the ball for Messi’s goal.
Campana 6. Levante’s holding midfielder impressed early on and nearly pulled one back with a low shot saved by ter Stegen.
Bardhi 6. Showed some touches of his undoubted class in midfield but was caught in possession for Barca’s opener.
Tono 6. Gave Dembele problems with his forward surges in the first half hour, and generally contained the winger well.
Boateng 6. Had a low early shot stopped and thumped another effort against the bar, but was quiet after that and replaced.
Morales 5. An unusually quiet performance from Levante’s dangerous skipper, who came up against a formidable opponent in Pique.
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Mayoral 5. The former Real Madrid striker appeared for the final half hour and nearly netted with a low shot, but ter Stegen did well.
Krcic 6. Nearly grabbed a consolation for the hosts with a deflected shot from the edge of the box but was denied by Ter Stegen.
Coke 5. Brought on to bolster the back line for the final stages but was turned inside-out by Pique for the last goal.
BARCELONA XI
Ter Stegen 7. Made a couple of great saves, especially with a full-length dive to his left to repel Krcic’s effort.
Pique 8. Had his hands full with Morales but stuck to the task well, and capped a fine display with the final goal.
Lenglet 7. The central figure in Barca’s back three, and he performed with maturity and composure, looking very comfortable.
Vermaelen 6. Started on the left on Barca’s defensive line and did a decent job but was replaced early in the second half.
Rakitic 6. Steady in the second half but he was struggling in the opening period, with Levante regularly getting goal side.
Busquets 6. Played a lovely through ball to Messi for the second goal and helped Barca control the tempo after going ahead.
Vidal 7. Regularly got forward to support Messi and Suarez, assisting Messi’s hat-trick goal, and gave an all-action performance.
Dembele 6. Fielded in an unaccustomed wingback position and struggled defensively but burst forward dangerously before being replaced.
Messi 9. Yet another masterclass. Conjured brilliant assists to Suarez and Pique as well as netting a sublime hat-trick.
Alba 7. Lined up as a wingback and got forward to tee up Messi’s first second goal with an astute square pass.
Suarez 7. Crashed home a brilliant finish to open the scoring and produced a great piece of skill for Messi’s hat-trick goal.
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Arthur 6. Entered the fray just after the third goal as manager Ernesto Valverde changed formation, and was steady enough.
Coutinho 5. Came on for Vidal and had a chance to score but blazed over from the edge of the box. Wasteful in possession.
Denis 5. A late replacement for Dembele and wasted a great opportunity with a weak finish at the keeper.
