A beardless Lionel Messi, vintage Jordi Alba and a thumping victory. Surely this is 2015? Well, not quite. But it’s close enough. Last night, Barça returned to La Liga action with a resounding 4-0 victory away at Mallorca. The Blaugranas were the dominant side throughout and edged the xG (expected goals) battle 2.45-0.8, whilst also (expectantly) dominating possession and having more shots on target than the Balearic side.
Quique Setién lined up in the regular 4-3-3 although it was very loosely defined. Sergio Busquets would often drop into the defensive line, between Gerard Piqué and Ronald Araujo.