La Manita for La Blaugrana

Barcelona scored five goals for the second straight away game as they demolished Sporting Gijon 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday.

Life without Lionel Messi began for Barca as he was one of five players dropped against Sporting, with Jeremy Mathieu, Lucas Digne, Andre Gomes, Rafinha and Arda Turan coming in and Sergio Busquets named captain, while Douglas seemingly shook off the buttock injury he incurred by sleeping in an awkward position on the team bus to be named a substitute against his parent club.

Arda was entrusted with ‘the Messi role’ on the right, but he pulled away from Pichu Cuellar’s left-hand post so he could meet a square pass, which the Turk knocked down for Neymar. The Brazilian then chested the ball before unleashing an overhead kick straight at the goalkeeper.

An indirect free kick was then awarded to Sporting Gijon right on the edge of the box as Marc-Andre ter Stegen handled outside the box but escaped the referee’s book. Sporting went to take the free kick, but it was smashed into the wall of Barca shirts deep in the area.

Gomes was making his first start for Barca in La Liga, and from a two-on-three in Sporting’s favour, the Catalans broke straight back as the midfielder emerged with the ball in the hosts’ box. He bode his time before hitting the shot, but it wasn’t worth the wait.

Seconds later, however, Suarez took down a long ball, which caught out the entire Sporting defence, before bypassing Cuellar and rolling a finish into an empty net. With that, the Uruguayan became the first man to reach five Primera goals in 2016-17.

Three minutes later, Sergi Roberto got to the right-hand byline and clipped a cross towards the near post for Rafinha to flick home with his head. That goal also marked two in two League games for the Brazilian.

Sporting almost made the same mistake twice from a long ball as Suarez again left behind the Asturian backline, but he could only smash his shot into side-netting.

The breakaway was proving very useful for Barca as they once more countered from a Sporting attack, which forced Ter Stegen to push away a powerful half-volley at his near post, Neymar then profiting from Sergio Busquets' interception in the hosts' final third but coming a whisker away from releasing Gomes for 0-3.

Sergi was about to enjoy his best half of football in a Barca shirt as he began the restart with all the time in the world to measure a low cross for Suarez, and the No 9 came a whisker away from beating Cuellar to the chase.

Victor Rodriguez, on the other hand, was Sporting’s danger man as he left Gerard Pique for dead with a delightul feint, but his near-post shot was pushed away by Ter Stegen.

Barca soon had the ball in Sporting’s net again when Pique knocked down a free kick from obstruction on Neymar, which was then smashed home on the volley, but the defender was offside. Moments before that, Arda took Lillo Castellano’s elbow to the face near the touchline, yet his opponent went unpunished.

Suarez and Busquets were rested for the final 20 minutes as Luis Enrique felt it to be the perfect opportunity for Paco Alcacer to get off the mark. Sporting countered by bringing on Douglas against his former club.

The all-action Sergi then forced the already-booked Alberto Lora to lunge into him and leave Sporting down to 10 as the graduate of La Masia would have been away in the clear without the challenge going in.

Alcacer cursed his luck as his first-time volley from a cross to his right smacked against the crossbar and bounces just in front of the line, but Neymar was there to mop up the rebound for 0-3, before Sergi bagged himself another assist, Arda heading in his cross.

Sporting passed up the chance of a consolation moments earlier, when substitute Dany N’Di stabbed a precious chance wide as a low ball from the right fell to his feet in Barca’s penalty area.

Still, Barca claimed La Manita anyway as Neymar angles a finish through Cuellar’s legs, and the Brazilian could’ve grabbed his hat-trick in stoppage time, only for his curling shot to clip the post.

Sporting Gijon 0-5 Barcelona

Lora sent off 67 (SG) Suarez 29, Rafinha 32, Neymar 81, 88, Arda 85 (B)

Sporting Gijon: Cuellar; Lora, Mere, Amorebieta, Lillo; Cases, Sergio; Burgui, Victor (Douglas 77), Moi (N’Di 68); Cop (Castro 68)

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Sergi, Pique, Mathieu, Digne; Gomes, Busquets (Denis 69), Rafinha; Arda, Suarez (Alcacer 72), Neymar

Referee: Del Cerro Grande

La Liga - Club News