Predicting the Stars, Breakouts and Disappointments at Barcelona in 2016/17

It wouldn’t be a kneejerk reaction to Barcelona’s start to the season to say they can win it all, just as they did in 2015.

LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey, taken in one fell swoop as the MSN striking trident clicked and started destroying every team in their wake. That’s Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

And of course, if you had to pick three stars from the season ahead, you would be wise to stay with those three.

He has a blond mop and a ginger beard, but Messi is still Messi despite his bizarre disguise. His performance against Real Betis on the opening day was sensational and a sign of what is to follow this season.

With increasing effect, he is playing deeper and deeper, less concerned with scoring the goals as he is with running the team’s business. Seeing Barcelona players operate around Messi is like watching bees around their queen.

Swarming and swirling, swooping and soaring they go, but the constant in the middle is Messi, with each move involving him—often at several points.

It’s not so much that Messi demands the ball but the ball demands him, as somehow he is always in the right position to receive and move it forward.

Despite this creative streak being emphasised and playing further away from the goal itself, he is still a potent danger, as his strikes against Betis showed.

Both came from outside the box because sometimes he decides the best thing to do is fire in a long-range strike, and when Messi elects to choose that, it’s invariably the right decision.

Other players wind up efforts from distance and you already anticipate the ball sailing into the upper echelons of the stadium—figuratively speaking, because Camp Nou is so grandiose that a player who might accidentally kick the ball into the top tier generally might not be of the calibre required at Barcelona—but with Messi, it’s the bulging net that flashes through your mind.

Watching him reach his older years will be intriguing albeit sad, and when he does take on man after man at speed, it should be relished because at some point that side of his game is going to end.

Suarez is already scoring goals. He netted a hat-trick against Betis, making Antonio Adan’s afternoon miserable, even though the goalkeeper actually played quite well. It’s testament to the quality of Barcelona’s finishing—and in …

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