If there was one thing that was noticeable from Barcelona’s comfortable 3-0 win over Girona, it was just how well the Blaugrana are playing as a team at present.
No longer Lionel Messi + 10 more, each and every player is making a contribution, and undoubtedly Ernesto Valverde has to take the credit for instilling such a mentality amongst his squad, including the senior players, quickly.
The team ethic was shown off to its fullest at the Estadio Montilivi because Messi was shadowed throughout the 90 minutes by an impressive Pablo Maffeo, a 20-year-old loanee from Manchester City.
Unable to escape the shackles for a significant period, the Argentinian’s influence was diluted. No matter, as the recalled Aleix Vidal grabbed his chance with both hands, whilst Sergi Roberto, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitic and Paulinho – to name five - all provided support roles par excellence.
It’s true that Girona weren’t quite the whirling dervishes of their opening two La Liga games and they did miss Christian Stuani badly, but for the first ever top-flight Catalan derby one might have expected something more from them.
That they were unable to get a foothold at any point is testament to just how well the Blaugrana XI played on Saturday night and to how well they’ve begun the 2017/18 season.
When everyone was talking about how many points Real Madrid were going to win the league by after they’d humbled Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, Valverde kept his own counsel and went about his business quietly and efficiently. No sense of drama or theatre which is exactly what the club and squad required.
Alba even admitted to the same in the wake of their sixth successive win in the league, seven in all competitions when taking the victory over Juventus in the Champions League into account.
Real were again unimpressive in their victory over Alaves but Zinedine Zidane won’t mind as long as his players keep getting points on the board. He will know too that the title race is obviously far from over at this point.
Indeed, the last time that Barca won their opening six in the league, Tata Martino’s side ended up losing the title on the final day of the season at home to Atletico.
Where perhaps Tata lost out, and where Valverde wins, is the calm air of authority and the mutual respect between coach and players. Not as fiery as Luis Enrique, he’s clearly getting his point across because his team are responding week in and week out.
Less is more. Clearly.
