Barcelona secured back-to-back clean sheets for the first time in 2015-16 as they eventually made easy work of Getafe in a 2-0 win on Sunday.
A total of nine changes were made by Luis Enrique from the side which drew blanks against Villanovense in the Copa del Rey midweek, with Claudio Bravo back in goal, Jordi Alba and Dani Alves either side of the defence and Gerard Pique partnering Jeremy Mathieu, who kept his place.
In midfield came Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Sergi Roberto, while Luis Suarez and Neymar partnered Munir El Haddadi, another survivor from the trip to Extremadura, up top.
Andres Iniesta was fit enough to feature in the matchday squad, having recovered from a month-long hamstring injury, but he was not risked from the offset.
El Geta, who had not conceded in their last two home games, were intent on defending extremely deeply in a bid to stifle Barca’s incisive forward play, and it worked as the Catalans – with only one win in their last five on the road – struggled to make the breakthrough for most part of the first half.
Nonetheless, the treble-winners refused to throw in the towel and were rewarded for their patience when Sergi Roberto’s fabulous flick was weighted to perfection for Suarez in the box. The No 9 then feinted before dinking the ball past Vicente Guaita at his near post for his eighth La Liga goal of the season.
The restart was a far more relaxed affair for Barca, who showed signs of their 14-15 form through the manner in which they glided through defence to attack at will and ensured their box was never infiltrated.
The fruits of their labour soon bore a second goal as Sergi Roberto, down the right-hand side, superbly found the run of Neymar with a swirling cross, and the No 11 leathered the ball home first time to leave Guaita with no chance.
It could have got even better for the Catalans as Iniesta’s return to action inspired them further, but Jordi Alba saw a one-on-one deflected over the bar by the former Valencia goalkeeper, while the linesman’s flag was never far away.
The result means it’s as you were atop La Liga, with Barca and Real Madrid both on 24 points after 10 rounds.
Getafe 0-2 Barcelona
Suarez 37, Neymar 58
Getafe: Guaita; D Suarez, Vergini, Alexis, Lago; Rodriguez (Bernard 80), Lacen; Leon (Lafita 60), Sarabia (Moises 69), Victor; Scepovic
Barcelona: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Sergi (Sandro 76); Munir (Iniesta 61), L Suarez, Neymar
Referee: Martinez Munuera
