Barcelona vs. Malaga: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Barcelona continued their perfect start to the new La Liga season by beating Malaga 1-0. Forgotten man Thomas Vermaelen struck the lone goal in the second half.

Malaga showed plenty of resolve throughout the match, consistently frustrating their illustrious hosts. The visitors sat deep and crowded the middle to choke off Barca's intricate passing game and block forward runs between the lines.

It said a lot that last season's treble winners needed a defender to make the difference. Manager Luis Enrique saw his usually fluent attack stutter for most of the night.

Those struggles were surprising considering this was the first time since last season's UEFA Champions League when the famed Luis Suarez, Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi front three started together.

Meanwhile, young Sergi Roberto moved from midfield to right back.

The official Twitter feed of Sky Sports La Liga provided the starting 11's for both teams:

The early going was predictably dominated by last season's champions. During this period, Suarez saw a goal ruled out by an offside flag.

Centre-back Javier Mascherano even got forward and shook the bar with a powerful drive. La Liga presenter and ESPN FC writer Graham Hunter noted how it's been a while since the combative Argentinian found the net:

But Barca didn't have things all their own way. Juan Carlos' pace caused major problems for the Catalans' defence. The winger even came close to catching out goalkeeper Claudio Bravo with an ambitious lob.

Malaga were cagey in defence and smart on the break. In particular, Nordin Amrabat's guile consistently unlocked Barca's high defensive line.

Barcelona soon felt aggrieved when they were denied a penalty in the late stages of the first half after a handball. Seconds later, Suarez was bundled over in the area, but again the referee was unmoved:

Terrific combination play between Neymar and Messi at the start of the second half was thwarted only by a rare slip from the latter. Moments later, the same combination crafted a chance when Neymar teed up Messi, but Malaga goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni slammed the door.

Hunter noted Malaga boss Javier Gracia was keen to freshen up his team after the break amid the energy his players were exerting to keep Barca at bay:

Messi was rebuffed again by the stubborn Kameni. Then Neymar had an effort blocked. Suarez was soon denied a certain goal by a desperate clearance following an excellent low cross from Roberto.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe noted how a strong Kameni performance against Barca is nothing new:

It was going to take something extraordinary to get beyond Kameni. A goal from Vermaelen qualified. Suarez did brilliantly to whip a cross into the area. The ball broke to Vermaelen, and the ex-Arsenal man volleyed home with excellent technique.

While he seemed like a surprise scorer, it's worth noting how goals were something of a speciality for Vermaelen during his days with the Gunners. Now he's renewed the habit in La Liga:

Barcelona still needed left-back Jordi Alba to make a desperate challenge in stoppage time to deny substitute Malaga striker Charles an equaliser.

Afterwards, Gracia stated he thinks this Barca team can repeat last season's treble success. He also believes the squad is better in a key area, according to Barca Stuff:

"

Gracia (coach Malaga): "It's very difficult to deal with a team like Barcelona. Their centre backs are also faster this season." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 29, 2015"

A fit again Vermaelen has a lot to do with that. Enrique noted how he expects the Belgian to do well this season:

"

Luis Enrique: "Vermaelen? Doesn't surpirse us, knew he's a quality player. Still needs playing minutes to be 100%. Has a lot of personality"

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 29, 2015"

But it wasn't just Vermaelen who earned praise from Enrique. He was happy with his team's overall defensive effort, per the club's official Twitter feed:

As for the attack, Enrique was happy to get Neymar some vital playing time:

"

Luis Enrique: "Neymar played really well. He was able to keep going for 80 minutes. Others wouldn't even have played in his situation."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 29, 2015"

If Barcelona can stay miserly at the back, Enrique's team will soon be back to its awesome best once Neymar and the rest of that star-studded front three clicks into gear.

Even without that, it's two wins, two clean sheets and six points to start Barca's title defence. Enrique's men aren't producing the same devastating attacking quality they managed last season, but scrapping to maximum points despite not being at their best is a decent omen for the new campaign.

For Malaga, the result will be hard to take. Their game plan was carried out efficiently and maybe merited more than they left the Camp Nou with.

Vermaelen and company won't care, though. Barca may not be firing on all cylinders, but they still have maximum points.