Lionel Messi majestic again in Girona, but just how good are Barcelona?

There was a familiar feeling about Barcelona's victory at Girona on Sunday. With Lionel Messi majestic again, the champions cruised to a 2-0 win which was never really in doubt. But how good are they?

Messi, left on the bench against Leganes the previous weekend and then not involved at all as Barca lost to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, was restored to the starting line-up at Montilivi. And as usual, he was streets ahead of everyone else.

The Argentine attacker appeared to be managing his energy: he had a quieter game by his incredible standards, yet still scored a fine goal (albeit after Girona had been reduced to 10 men) and spent the afternoon pinging passes to his team-mates in prime positions.

Those opportunities were wasted by Luis Suarez, among others, while Philippe Coutinho was poor and again looked low on confidence. Nothing really went the Brazilian's way in the Catalan derby and his recent form must be a concern for coach Ernesto Valverde.

Barca were missing Ousmane Dembele, of course, with the French forward still injured. And they certainly looked to be playing within themselves, the result rarely in doubt.

A Girona goal could have changed that. There were chances, too: Cristhian Stuani was a lively presence and the home side sent in a number of dangerous crosses.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen produced a couple of super saves, yet the German did not look comfortable with high balls into the area and there are still some question marks about Clement Lenglet in terms of both concentration and positioning.

Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets continues to struggle in midfield and has seemed slower than usual this season. Perhaps all those years of having to play because he has no understudy are starting to take their toll.

Messi masks the flaws and he did again, wrapping up the win with a wonderful chip after Bernardo Espinosa had been sent off for a questionable second yellow card. Arthur also brought more control in the closing stages after he replaced Arturo Vidal in midfield.

That is eight wins in a row now for the Catalan club in La Liga, which marks the best return in Valverde's spell in charge.

"After the sending off, they kept on pressing," the Barca boss said afterwards. "What we wanted was to have the ball more and every loose ball for Stuani was a distress. We resolved the match with Messi's goal."

That has happened on countless occasions in recent years and once again, Barca's extraordinary consistency in La Liga looks like being too much for the rest as the leaders moved five points clear at the top of the table.

And if the Catalans crash out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, it will be because of Valverde's experimental line-up, sans Messi, at the Sanchez Pizjuan in last week's 2-0 defeat.

The true test for Barca this season will therefore come against Europe'e elite teams in the Champions League. Because despite domestic dominance, that is something the Blaugrana have found more difficult since their treble success in 2014-15.