Barcelona 5-1 Leganes – Player Ratings

MARC ANDRE TER STEGEN. 8. The keeper wasn’t too busy after the first 10 minutes, but did his job and made a good save or two. Must be credited for a neat cutback under pressure outside his box with a Leganes player sprinting at him.. GK. Barcelona

7. Caught in limbo between a right back position in defense and a center back in a defensive three when Barcelona had the ball, Mascherano adjusted to the game, and was untroubled other than a needless shove in his own box that could have been called for a penalty early on.. RB/CB. Barcelona. JAVIER MASCHERANO

8.5. Pique was imperious as usual, leading the back line in simple yet impressive fashion. He never put a foot wrong, and distributed well from the back.. CB. Barcelona. GERARD PIQUE

Barcelona. SAMUEL UMTITI. 8. Much like his center back partner Pique, Umtiti had little trouble with Leganes, and the young Frenchman again displayed maturity beyond his years. He’s looking like a stout defender, and may become Barcelona’s definite first choice next to Pique over Mascherano and compatriot Jeremy Mathieu.. CB

7. Kind of like Mascherano, Alba couldn’t find a comfort zone due to positional changes. He normally plays like a left midfielder anyway, but wasn’t overly involved, especially going forward. Nonetheless, Alba didn’t do anything wrong.. LB/LM. Barcelona. JORDI ALBA

7.5. In a different setup than usual for Barcelona, Rakitic was relied upon less for passing and attacking prowess, and more for industry and work ethic. When called upon, as per usual, the midfielder did his job well. It definitely won’t go down as his best game, but he can’t be disappointed with it.. CM. Barcelona. IVAN RAKITIC

8. Stuck on the right side, Rafinha kind of floated through the game in the periphery, never being given a great chance to attack due to the three-headed monster ahead of him taking up those opportunities. Nevertheless, after a sloppy start, he grew into the game and scored a stunning goal. Solid performance from the Brazilian.. CM/RM. Barcelona. RAFINHA

7.5. Iniesta had a game similar to Rakitic, in which he wasn’t called upon to do much creative work. However, like his midfield mate, the Barça legend did what was asked of him and played a good game. He was taken off for a deserved rest with the game put away early on.. CM. Barcelona. ANDRES INIESTA

LIONEL MESSI. 9.5. What can we say about the world’s greatest footballer that hasn’t already been said. Messi was at his creative best again, scoring the opener, assisting a Luis Suarez goal, and powering home a penalty later on. The Argentine is certainly happy to have Neymar and Suarez back, and it’s shown in his play.. LW. Barcelona

Barcelona. NEYMAR . 9. Neymar is still getting back to his best after his Olympic break, but looked great against Leganes. He earned his goal, and put in some lung-busting runs down the left wing. Received a slight deduction for a needless yellow card for protesting, but it was a good performance for the Brazilian.. RW

ST. Barcelona. LUIS SUAREZ (MOTM). 10. Suarez again showed why he is regarded as the world’s best center forward. He produced an absolutely incredible display, scoring one and unselfishly assisting two when both times he was in alone on goal. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are often considered the best players in the world, but performances like this will continue to push Suarez toward that discussion.

6. An unimpressive showing off the bench for Barça’s newest signing. He is still looking to score his first goal for the club after he put the ball in the back of the net but saw it called back for offsides. He’s still adjusting to life at Barcelona.. ST (Suarez, 56'). Barcelona. PACO ALCACER

Barcelona. ARDA TURAN. 5.5. None of the substitutes really made their mark, but none were horrible either. Turan didn’t make a huge difference off the bench, but lost half a point after he fouled Leganes on the edge of the box, leading to Gabriel’s free kick that ruined the clean sheet.. CM (Rakitic, 57')

Suarez came on after the game was well within Barcelona’s grasp, and didn’t have to do much. Perhaps knowing that, he didn’t do much.. CM (Iniesta, 68'). Barcelona. DENIS SUAREZ. 6