BATE Borisov 0-2 Barcelona: Five talking points

An Ivan Rakitic brace made the difference in Barysaw as Barcelona cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over BATE Borisov and took a giant step towards the round of 16. Sans Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta for the trip to Belarus, the visitors endured a relatively dormant first half that saw them perform with laxity and also waste a few decent scoring chances.The defending champions came flying out of the blocks, rejuvenated in the second half, and grabbed the lead almost instantly when Rakitic drilled a cross from Neymar high into the net, and put the tie to bed when the Croat chipped the ball over BATE ‘keeper Sergey Chernik, after gathering another pass from the Brazilian.Barcelona made light of the absence of some of their key players as they got their job done without much hassle, and tightened their grip at the summit of group E. Here are five talking points from the game.

#1 Busquets shines in creative role

With a raft of injuries plaguing the holders Barcelona, manager Luis Enrique tweaked the starting line-up a bit that saw Javier Mascherano pushed up to the centre of the park and shoehorn Sergio Busquets in a more creative role. It was a move that yielded rich dividends as the Spaniard thrived in his new job.

Busquets was allowed the license to surge forward with the Argentine forming the base of the midfield pivot. The 26-year old made some good moves both on and off the ball, and dominated possession. He was precise with his crosses and got into dangerous positions oftenly.

He missed two good chances to get on the scoresheet but his contributions in the attack were undeniably better than most would have expected. A laudable show from a player who isn’t so used to shouldering attacking responsibilities.