No Neymar and this Messi... watch out PSG

A comfortable victory over Alaves was the best medicine for Barcelona to take ahead of their Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi and Francisco Trincao each scored twice at the Camp Nou on Saturday, as Abelardo's visitors were outclassed in LaLiga Santander.

And who knows - with Neymar injured and Messi in this kind of form - maybe Barcelona can give PSG a run for their money.

On the night where he drew level with Xavi Hernandez on 505 appearances in LaLiga Santander, Messi shone brighter than anyone for the Blaugrana. After VAR had ruled out a previous strike, the Argentine beat Fernando Pacheco from range twice in the 5-1 rout.

Trincao made his first start in LaLiga Santander since the return fixture against Alaves in late October and boy did he made the most of the opportunity. His first goal was extremely well taken, while he was in the right place at the right time to net his second later in the evening.

Ilaix Moriba will never forget his LaLiga Santander debut for Barcelona - for both good and bad reasons. The youngster impressed on the ball in the first half, setting up Trincao's opener, but lost possession needlessly for Luis Rioja's second-half strike.

Frenkie de Jong was Barcelona's utility man against Alaves. He played the first half as part of the defence before switching to play in midfield after Samuel Umtiti's introduction at half time. The main question is: where will he play against PSG?

Alaves goalkeeper Pacheco did his best to try to keep the scoring to a minimum at the Camp Nou. He made impressive saves to deny Trincao in the first half and Messi in the second.

Once again Umtiti appeared to be a bit off the pace in a Barcelona shirt. The way he defended for Rioja's goal did nothing to raise hopes within the Blaugrana coaching team that he can cope on a bigger occasion.