A controversial Gerard Deulofeu strike and Andres Iniesta's deflected effort saw La Liga leaders Barcelona ease past bottom side Malaga.
Barcelona opened the scoring in shambolic fashion, when the ball ran out of play, missed by the officials, before Lucas Digne crossed for Deulofeu to flick in with the back of his heel.
The rest of the first half was dull, with Malaga coming close when Chory Castro headed wide and Messi striking the wall with a free-kick as Barcelona couldn’t break the visitors down.
However Messi broke through in the 56th minute on the edge of the box, feeding Iniesta who saw his strike deflected into the top corner to double Barcelona’s lead.
Luis Suarez missed a sitter in the second half but it didn't matter as the Catalans stretched their lead on Valencia at the top of the table to four points.
Here are five talking points from the game…
1. Valverde’s Barcelona are dull but reliable
Thrills-and-spills seem to have been left behind in the Neymar era. This Barcelona side look sturdy and solid, but unable to put on the amazing shows we saw when the Brazilian lined up alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Of course, any team with Messi will still be worth watching and the Argentine drew gasps at times with his usual skill, but as a unit Barcelona are impressive but not necessarily enjoyable.
With the lead they remained patient until the second goal came along, when Valverde took off Deulofeu to get tighter at the back.
As the old saying goes, slow and steady does win the race, and Valverde beat a team that has proved troublesome for Barcelona in recent years—under Luis Enrique the Catalans emerged triumphant just twice against Malaga in six attempts.
2. Deulofeu finding his feet
Some players would have been thrown off their game by being removed ‘unfairly’, like Deulofeu was on Wednesday when Barcelona were reduced to 10 men and he was picked as the fall guy by Valverde.
However the winger looks like he really wants to make a fist of it this season, even though most reasonably doubted he would be able to have much of a role beyond occasional super-sub.
Deulofeu struck his first goal for the club in his 16th appearance, the first of which came back in 2011.
Despite the six year wait, Deulofeu is still only 23 and with Dembele sidelined until Christmas, it’s clear he understands this is a wonderful chance to become a crucial player for the club he loves.
3. Digne growing in confidence
Lucas Digne started his Barcelona career well last season but struggled to force his way past Jordi Alba and more or less disappeared from the scene during the latter stages.
However thanks to Alba’s thigh injury he started in the Champions League against Olympiakos and again here, helping Barcelona break the deadlock.
Although the ball was out of play before he crossed it in, Digne didn’t give up and his cut-back was turned in neatly by Deulofeu.
If there was one aspect of his game which could have been improved, it was his work in attacking areas—and it looks like he’s doing better at that now.
4. Umtiti has become Barcelona’s key defender
Gerard Pique’s form has been poor at the start of the season, culminating in his red card on Wednesday against Olympiakos.
The defender was benched for this game, with Javier Mascherano stepping in. Valverde will say it is simply squad rotation but there is an element of punishment involved too.
Someone who now seems more or less undroppable, though, is the man who plays alongside Pique, Samuel Umtiti.
From the start of his career at Barcelona he has looked mature beyond his years and adds not only speed but wisdom to the back-line.
If he continues this form Didier Deschamps will have no choice but to make him a starter for France at the 2018 World Cup.
5. Surprising Semedo snub as Sergi stays stuck
Nelson Semedo ’s early performances for Barcelona have been very promising but it seems Ernesto Valverde is not overly enamoured with the Portuguese right-back.
Semedo was left out against Olympiakos and again for the clash with Malaga, with Sergi Roberto chosen in the slot on the right side.
Aleix Vidal was left out of the squad entirely, with Valverde following Luis Enrique’s lead, it seems.
Roberto thought he might get to play more in midfield this season but if Valverde doesn’t trust Semedo then he will be stuck out on the flank again.
Semedo, meanwhile, seemed to be just what Barcelona were lacking so it is curious that the coach has looked elsewhere in the last couple of matches.
The Portuguese was brought on with 20 minutes to go, once Barcelona had doubled their lead.