No Lionel Messi, no problem for Barcelona as goals from Rafinha and Jordi Alba put down a hugely disappointing Inter Milan at Camp Nou.
With Messi watching on and cradling his broken arm from the stands, Barca had little trouble breaking down the Serie A-side, though it did take a quite unbelievable assist from Luis Suarez for Rafinha to open the scoring.
Jordi Alba wrapped up the game 10 minutes from time, but they were never in any danger of conceding an equaliser, as Mauro Icardi and Co offered next to nothing in attack.
Check out our Barcelona ratings below:
BARCELONA (4-3-3)
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – Did well to react to a Politano cross that deceptively turned into a shot. Great on the ball. 7
Sergi Roberto – Preferred to Nelson Semedo at right-back and handled everything thrown at him – which wasn’t much. 7
Gerard Pique – His form is under the microscope and he just wasn’t tested enough to take away any conclusions. 6
Clement Lenglet – Two golden chances, two poor misses. Defensively he was sound, apart from one Icardi scare. 6
Jordi Alba – Some clever combinations with Coutinho and wrapped up the win with a wonderful touch and finish. 8
Ivan Rakitic – Pretty passing followed up by the end product that led to Alba applying the gloss. 8
Sergio Busquets – Inter’s ‘attack’ was anything but attacking and the understated Busquets played the key role. 8
Arthur – The diminutive midfielder’s stature only grows with every passing game. A smooth operator – born to play for Barca? 7
Rafinha – He was no mini-Messi, but Rafinha busied himself right across the attacking line and a smart run led to his goal. 7
Luis Suarez – He almost deserves full marks for the Rafinha assist alone. Full of menace and only improved as game wore on. 9
Philippe Coutinho – Walloped against the woodwork and took relish in shouldering some of Messi’s duties. 8
SUBSTITUTES
Nelson Semedo – Brought on to lock down the right flank, though the Nerazzurri barely intruded. 6
Arturo Vidal – Brought on in the last 10 minutes for Arthur, who has emphatically blocked his route to the first team. N/A
Munir El Haddadi – A few minutes to run around when the job was all but over. N/A
