Did the Return of Andres Iniesta Gloss over Barcelona's Other Deficiencies?
Seeing Barcelona's Andres Iniesta back in the starting lineup would surely have pleased the 68,502 fans who'd made the trip to Camp Nou for the Champions League game against BATE Borisov.
The 31-year-old was straight back into the groove from the first moments of the game, and at times, it looked like he'd never been away.
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Despite being threadbare in terms of squad depth, Luis Enrique resisted the temptation to start with his captain before this game, and the extra rest had evidently paid off with El Ilusionista dictating matters across the midfield.
Once Ivan Rakitic had departed with yet another injury—which could cause the Catalans problems in due course—Iniesta's influence became more marked. There certainly seemed to be an urge from the player to be involved at every possible opportunity.
His short and long passing was on point, with WhoScored.com noting a 90.5 percent accuracy from his 67 minutes on the pitch, and his trickery, quick feet and incisive play was a joy to behold.
Playing a more central role than he has been used to previously, Iniesta was able to spray the ball left or right with aplomb, and such a glorious contribution perhaps took the eye away from the deficiencies elsewhere on the pitch.
With the greatest of respect to BATE, they're nowhere close to Barcelona's level, and that showed for long periods in their play.
Against that backdrop, Barca should really have been much further ahead than a single Neymar goal by the time Luis Suarez doubled the lead and took the tie out of reach of the visitors on the hour mark.
Both front men again acquitted themselves extremely well and continue to do the business in Lionel Messi's absence, but Munir El Haddadi came up woefully short yet again.
How many more chances will the youngster be given in this Barca side before Luis Enrique finally closes the door on his Barca dream?
Arguably, the Villarreal game presents the 20-year-old with one final opportunity to keep himself in the manager's thoughts for the remainder of the season.
Messi may not return for El Clasico, but there's some certainty to that being an occasion that is far too big a stage for Munir to shine on.
Jordi Alba won't be quaking in his boots after being rested for this one either.
If the ideal scenario for a manager is to have two players genuinely challenging for a particular position on the pitch, then Adriano Correia, 31, didn't do himself justice against the Belarusians.
Quite why Enrique refuses to give Barca B captain Alejandro Grimaldo some match time is anyone's guess. Surely the 20-year-old would've been a more appropriate stand-in than the ageing Brazilian, who rarely provided anything of note during the match.
Perhaps there's also a school of thought that against such accommodating opposition, Barcelona could quite easily have produced a vintage and free-flowing exhibition.
Instead, at times, supporters were treated to disjointed and delayed passing through the lines and lazy balls that didn't reach their intended target.
Despite a 3-0 scoreline and what would appear to be another comprehensive home win, there is still ample room for improvement.
If there's one thing the manager can at least hold on to, it's that his team are still joint top of La Liga and almost certainly qualified from their Champions League group, all without hitting top form.
Media and supporter pressure was also more intense at this time last year, and we all know what happened in the second half of the season.
With their captain fantastic now back in situ, perhaps it won't be too long before Barca hit the heights again.
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