The home side had been reduced to 10 men late in the first period when Javier Mascherano was given his marching orders, but it made little impact on the contest.

Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.

Match statistics

Barcelona
Shots: 12
On target: 6
Possession: 72%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 11

Elche
Shots: 3
On target: 0
Possession: 28%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 13

Was the result fair?

Statistics rarely paint a false picture in football and the fact that Barcelona dominated all the major areas this evening is an indication of their dominance at the Camp Nou. They took a little bit of time to get going, but after Messi had opened the scoring, there was never any danger of Elche taking something from the match.

Even with Barca down to 10 men, Elche never offered the impression that they were capable of causing an upset or indeed launching a meaningful attack. The Catalan outfit were not at their free-flowing best, but are still without a number of first-team regulars.

They still had far too much for Elche, however, who failed to register a single attempt on target and had to wait until second-half stoppage time to force their first corner. It was incredibly comfortable for Luis Enrique's new-look team.

Barcelona's performance

With Luis Suarez suspended, Neymar injured and Pedro still not fully fit, Rafinha and El-Haddadi were both handed their league debuts for the Catalan outfit this evening. Summer signings Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu and Ivan Rakitic were also included and, to a man, each impressed on their first competitive performance.

El-Haddadi will take the headlines, with the 18-year-old netting his first senior goal in the second period, but Rakitic was superb in the middle of the park. Messi also seemed like his old self on an extremely positive evening for Enrique's side.

The only blot occurred late in the first period when Mascherano was sent from the field, but Barcelona were so in control that it made little difference to the result. Tougher tests are ahead, starting next weekend against Villarreal, but it was the perfect start to the new league season.

Elche's performance

In truth, how Elche fare this season will not depend on their results at places such as the Camp Nou. They survived by just one point last season and if that occurs in the new campaign, it will be considered another success.

They did frustrate Barcelona in the opening half, but there is no question that heads dropped when Messi scored late in the first period. The red card for Mascherano should have inspired them, but they conceded again quickly in the second half and that all but ended the match as a contest.

They did defend well for long spells, but the fact that they failed to register a single shot on target will be a big disappointment. Like Barcelona, they had a number of new players on display, however, and it will take time for the new acquisitions to adapt.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Lionel Messi: New manager, new season, but some things never change. Messi did not enjoy his best campaign last season, with his body language radiating frustration at times. That was simply not the case this evening, with the Argentine full of energy and boasting a smile on his face.

The attacker's first goal arrived following a beautiful turn on the edge of the Elche box, before he passed his second coolly into the bottom corner after mesmerising the opposition defence. The World Cup finalist was just wonderful tonight.

Biggest gaffe

Sergio Busquets had a solid evening for Barcelona, but he did make a big mistake at the end of the first period. The Spaniard failed to deal with a long pass from the Elche defence, with his header dropping into the path of Garry Rodrigues, who had a clear run at goal.

Mascherano did his best to keep up with the attacker, but clipped the Cape Verde international on his heels, leading to a red card. It was clumsy from Mascherano, but the incident had developed from a Busquets mistake.

Referee performance

Overall, Fernando Teixeira had a relatively calm evening at the Camp Nou. It was not really a difficult match to referee in terms of challenges and he got the major decision correct. Even the most ardent of Barcelona supporter would find it difficult to argue that Mascherano did not deserve a red for bringing down Rodrigues just outside the box. Aside from that moment, Teixeira has hardly called into action, issuing just the one yellow card during a straightforward 90 minutes.

What next?

Barcelona: The Catalan outfit are next in league action away to Villarreal next Sunday.

Elche: Elche will look to put some points on the board when they host Granada next Sunday.