Malaga vs. Barcelona: 6 Things We Learned

Barcelona travelled to La Rosaleda Sunday night to take on Bernd Schuster's new-look Malaga side.

Schuster had already told the press (h/t Marca) in the lead up to last weekend's opening round of fixtures that his side would lose their first three games.

A stunning strike from Adriano as we approached the half-time whistle ensured that Schuster is still on track with his prediction.

Whilst this wasn't a classic by any means, there were enough positives for Barcelona to take from this 1-0 win.

Let's take a look at six things we learned.

Bernd Schuster's Tactics

Malaga manager Bernd Schuster was true to his word.

Earlier in the week, he was asked how he would set up his team against Barcelona.

The former Blaugrana captain joked, per COPE h/t Football Espana: “Against Barca, we will play with two goalkeepers, a bus and a high speed train.”

Although his tongue was firmly in his cheek when passing comment, we saw that Malaga did exactly that—the proverbial "parking the bus" scenario.

One could've expected better from a Schuster team given that he himself, back in 2012, told how that style of play was ruining the game—per Tom Conn from Inside Spanish Football.

Some might say it was a great defensive performance with two solid banks of four not allowing Barca much time on the ball.

What's clear is that as the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid get stronger, the "also-rans" will have to resort to such tactics to save the themselves from a fate such as that which befell Levante at Barca's hands last week.

Bigger Role for Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas has more than shown his value in both La Liga games this season.

Man of the Match vs. Levante, he followed up that outstanding performance with another of high quality, this time in the role that Lionel Messi has made his own.

There is clearly more to this player than a bit part role from the subs bench, and regardless of the truths or otherwise pertaining to a switch to Manchester United, Barca are the winners here.

Gerardo Martino's conundrum is how to integrate Cesc into the team on a much more regular basis—perhaps the resting of Xavi Hernandez and/or Messi is the key.

On this form, Fabregas deserves his place in the starting XI.

Neymar's Evolution

No one can fail to be impressed by the start that Neymar has made to his Barcelona career.

The young Brazilian has knuckled down and worked hard to integrate himself into this team of superstar talents, and it looks to have paid off.

Although he was barely on the pitch for half an hour, he was a constant menace with his pace and movement.

As he becomes more accustomed to his role, it's likely we may begin to see the vast array of skills that the player has in his locker.

However, the paying public and Neymar's Barca colleagues should be especially pleased to see that Neymar has the intelligence to only use those skills when a situation allows.

With his high price tag came a certain reputation, but the player appears to have worked overtime to dispell the notion that he was just a "show pony."

Tonight's cameo performance was evidence enough of that.

"Tata's" Rotation Policy

The likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets have played a lot of football, and had hardly any rest, over the past few seasons.

Even when they have appeared to not be fully fit, the Barcelona management team decreed that all must play.

Where Barca may benefit this year is from Gerardo Martino's rotation and substitution policy,

Resisting the clamour to start Neymar is a perfect example of the manager's philosophy. Keeping Busquets on the bench is another.

Why risk your stars in such games unless you feel it is absolutely necessary?

Although Sergi Roberto only had a short cameo, it's a nod to youth which was lacking when Tito Vilanova was in the hot seat.

The benefits should come towards the business end of the season, with each player still fresh and ready to meet Champions League and La Liga responsibilities full on.

Duopoly?

It's perhaps being a little ungracious to be talking about a two-team league this early in the season, but after this result, one could be forgiven for thinking it.

Barcelona were in control for long periods and were only really troubled very late in the match.

Real Betis' performance last week at Real Madrid, a stunning Real Sociedad performance at Lyon in the Champions League and a David Villa-led Atletico Madrid may have something to say about any hasty predictions.

You could surmise that both Real and Barcelona won't have it all their own way in every game this season.

Tonight was the perfect example of that, yet Barca still had the tools to come on out on top and get the job done, without exerting themselves too much in the process.

Jordi Alba's Loss of Form

Jordi Alba looked a little off colour tonight.

Misplaced passes were commonplace, and his usual zip was only in evidence on a few occasions.

A feature of Barcelona's play last season was the width that Alba provided down the left-hand side, but it appeared that it was a real effort for him to make those lung-bursting runs we have come to enjoy.

A couple of crosses aside, his contribution in both an attacking and defensive sense was not up to his usual standard.

It's hard to fathom why the player seems to have lost focus at such an early stage of the season.

Two poorly mistimed tackles right at the death almost handed Malaga the draw,and typified his error-prone performance.