Barcelona 8-2 Huesca: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | LaLiga 2018/19
SCORE: (Messi 16',61'; Polido(OG) 24'; Suarez 39',93'; Dembele 48'; Rakitic 42'; Alba 81'; ) Barcelona 8-2 SD Huesca (Hernandez 3'; Gallar 42')
Barcelona were looking to make it three wins in a row after victories over Deporvito Alaves and Real Valladolid in the opening two encounters of LaLiga Santander. Lionel Messi had already notched up two goals for the campaign and after drawing a blank in the second fixture would've been hoping for a return to goalscoring form on the way to a victory for his side.
And when Leo Messi wishes so, it so often turns out to be so. La Liga's tormentor-in-chief was in sublime form finding the back of the net twice and lit up Camp Nou on numerous other occasions with touches of brilliance and defence-splitting passes.
Just what the doctor ordered for the Catalans after Real Madrid mounted the pressure on the reigning LaLiga Champions after an impressive 4-1 win over Leganes the night before. Here are the Talking Points from a game that saw both Messi and Suarez score braces and Alba, Rakitic and Dembele all getting on the scoresheet as well:
#5 Huesca took the hosts by surprise, but Barcelona should've seen it coming
Huesca have been terrific on their League bow so far this season - winning the first and then stealing an impressive draw at the daunting San Mames against Athletic Bilbao despite going two goals down.
The new boys in the Spanish top flight have looked very impressive in the short time they've had in the big-time scoring freely and also showing a spirit becoming more and rare in the game these days - the spirit to take the game to the opposition.
But every other stadium in the world is something, and the one in Barcelona is something else. However, the newly promoted side showed character and courage to take the game to the opposition, particularly in the opening stages of the game.
And they sure reaped the benefits of that reward. In fact, it was as soon as the second minute of the game when they stunned the home crowd by taking the lead against, arguably the biggest club in the world.