With only one “natural” defender in Pep Guardiola’s lineup on Monday night FC Barcelona took the Camp Nou pitch to open the 2011/2012 La Liga campaign after a one week strike stoppage.

Due to the unavailability of Pique, Puyol, Alves, Adriano and Maxwell Pep Guardiola decided to unveil a new formation for the La Liga champions. He went with a 3-4-3 formation featuring Mascherano, Busquets and Abidal on the back line. The result was perfection as FC Barcelona unleashed a convincing thrashing of Guiseppe Rossi and Villarreal.

Behind a brace from Lionel Messi and goals in league debuts from Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas, Barcelona showed that they are in top season form with a decisive 5-0 win. Giving the club lots of momentum going into a much needed international break that will see many of their injured stars ready to go when the league resumes September 10.

Full match highlights below:

Barcelona – Villarreal La Liga 09.08… by iNfRaS0NiC