Barcelona thrashed Levante, 7-0, in their first La Liga match of the season. They scored six before halftime. It was the kind of statement win manager Gerardo Martino needed in his first league match as manager of the club.
There have been many critics who have wondered if Martino is the man for the job and if Barcelona have done enough to improve during the summer.
FC Barcelona will be looking to become the third (or fourth, depending on the result in the evening's earlier match between Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano) side to claim six points from their opening two matches, as both Athletic Bilbao and newly-promoted Villarreal secured their second wins of the campaign earlier in the weekend. Athletic Bilbao are hoping to challenge for a UEFA Champions League qualification place under the guidance of new coach Ernesto Valverde -- and they looked impressive on Friday night at the Anoeta against a wasteful Osasuna performance. Villarreal on the other hand were simply hoping for survival, even if they have invested rather heavily (by La Liga standards) in their playing squad following promotion. But after two matches, perhaps they have designs on something more -- with a second comeback victory in two games, this time against Real Valladolid, it's safe to say that confidence will be high at El Madrigal.
Thanks to their landslide win over Levante in Jornada One, Barcelona should regain their place at the top of the table with any victory tonight -- and are expected to cruise to victory against a much-changed Malaga outfit. Even in the absence of Lionel Messi, Barcelona have talent in abundance: Neymar, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi, Andres Iniesta -- the list goes on and on; just how can Bernd Schuster compete with the Blaugrana?
Chances are that he cannot -- at least not without a tactical rethink. 10 men behind the ball with an emphasis on counter-attacks; it's probably the only way that Malaga can grab something from this match.
Considering how easily the Catalans dispatched Levante, those concerns may have been blown out of proportion. The Spanish league has become an annual battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this season looks to be no different.
On the other side of the pitch, Malaga is recovering from a 1-0 loss to Valencia. It wasn't a demoralizing loss. The match did drive home the new reality for the club, though.
This is a vastly different side from the one that qualified for the Champions League in 2011-12. The money has dried up, and the best players have gone elsewhere. Manuel Pellegrini has left to manage Manchester City, making way for Bernd Schuster. On the pitch, Isco, Jeremy Toulalan and Joaquin have all been sold.
Where: Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain
Date: Sunday, August 25
Time: 3 p.m. ET; 8 p.m. BST
