Image source, Reuters

Bingo! Barcelona finally get the goal they deserve through - you know who - Lionel Messi. It is vintage Messi as he turns outside the Elche box, gets his head down, takes four neat touches, then fires into the bottom corner. Should be straightforward from here for the home side.

Barca have done everything but score. Messi and Munir combine again inside the Elche area, but the latter is guilty of trying to overplay. The 18-year-old could shoot from the left channel but decides to roll the ball across the box....to no-one.

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Our statistics tell us that Barcelona have enjoyed a whopping 81% possession. It is like a training-ground session of keep-ball. Teenage debutant Munir wriggles into space on the left, cutting back to Messi, but a green and white shirt nips in before the Argentina captain to hack clear.

And seconds later, another home chance goes begging. A well-worked corner ends in Dani Alves - who I'm pleased to report has ditched the grey hair for a darker shade - whipping a low shot just past the post. Barcelona are knocking heavily on the door.

Again Barcelona probe, again the frame of the goal comes to Elche's rescue. Andres Iniesta sweetly connects with Lionel Messi's square pass, only to see his 20-yard effort cannon back off the bar.

Here he is again. Ivan Rakitic is warming to his new surroundings, driving forward before having his ankles clipped by Elche's Mosquera. The referee has a word with the away midfielder, but decides not to write his name down in the notebook. Lucky boy.

We had not seen much of Ivan Rakitic before the Croatian pops up unmarked in the right channel of the Elche box. Wearing the number four shirt left by Chelsea-bound Cesc Fabregas, Rakitic's delivery is a poor one and is easily cleared by the away defence.

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New Barca midfielder Ivan Rakitic, a summer signing from Sevilla, made a league-high seven assists from set plays last term.

And we nearly get one! Barca debutant Munir - an 18-year-old Spanish youth international of Moroccan descent - shows exactly why he has gained the trust of new boss Luis Enrique. He latches on to a perfectly-weighted through ball, takes a cushioned touch, then unleashes a rising left-foot thunderbolt. Elche keeper Przemyslaw Tyton breathes a sigh of relief after being saved by the angle of the woodwork.

Former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen looks pretty bored as he sits in the Nou Camp main stand watching his new side. The Belgian centre-back misses out on his debut because of a hamstring injury. He, like the rest of us, needs a goal to liven things up....

The home fans seem pretty pleased with their side's start. A huge roar greets Jeremy Mathieu's interception on the halfway line as Elche dare to venture out of their own half. Debutant home keeper Claudio Bravo has not even had a kick yet.

Elche, who avoided the drop by a single point last season, have barely had a kick. Barca ramp up the tempo as Messi slides another ball into the danger zone, before left-back Jordi Alba fires wide from distance with his weaker right foot.

Lionel Messi is again at the centre of another bright attacking move by the hosts. The Argentine slices open the Elche backline with a lobbed throughball to marauding right-back Dani Alves. But the Brazilian springs forward a touch early and is flagged offside. Messi is feeling in the mood tonight.

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Barcelona, as you would expect, are dominating possession in the opening moments. They are passing the ball sharply as Elche throw all 11 men behind the ball. Lionel Messi tricks his way past a defender on the right, clipping up a cross towards the far post, only to see an Elche head clear the danger.

Nick: Not convinced by Barca's improvements. Vermaelen not enough at CB, and swapping Fabregas and Sanchez for Rakitic and Suarez is a small improvement if any. Mathieu might be among the worst signings of the summer. £20m for a 30-year-old left-back who is pretty poor at centre-back? No thanks.

After that brief interruption, the match is restarted as Barca look to bag an early opener. Young debutant Rafinha is picked out by a Lionel Messi pass, but is quickly crowded out by the Elche defence.

Finally the cheeky beggar is scooped up by a steward and taken off the pitch to huge cheers from his adoring public. Like the Anfield Cat and the Blackburn Chicken, I'm sure the Nou Camp Kitten will have its own Twitter account within seconds...

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Less than a minute has gone on the clock and play is stopped by an intruder....a black cat! The feline is loving its moment in the limelight, scampering around the Nou Camp pitch and evading a number of challenges to be caught. The Nou Camp is lapping it up....

Image source, AP

The Nou Camp is packed to the rafters. The players are ready. Game on!

Luis Enrique looks relaxed as he walks that familiar walk down the Nou Camp tunnel, cheerily whistling along to the Barca club anthem. But the ex-Celta Vigo boss knows that he must deliver after the Catalan giants' first trophyless campaign in six seasons.

"That is a nice challenge," he says. "Barcelona cannot afford another season without results. Last year was not good and we have to forget it. We have got a clean slate to move forward."