Griezmann scores brilliant double in 9/10 showing as Barca trounce Betis

BARCELONA -- Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Barcelona bounced back from an opening day defeat to Athletic Bilbao by thumping Real Betis 5-2 at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Griezmann opened his account for his new club just before half-time after Nabil Fekir had given Betis a surprise lead. The former Atletico Madrid star added his second after the break, curling home from the corner of the box.

Barca B forward Carles Perez added the third with a neat finish from 18 yards and Jordi Alba scored the fourth after a clever pass from Sergio Busquets. Substitute Arturo Vidal then made it five before Loren Moron grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.

Positives

Coach Ernesto Valverde will draw a long list of positives from Barca's first win of the season. Not only was this one of the most impressive performances from his side in a long while, but there were also plenty of individual highlights.

Griezmann's off the mark for the club -- the second goal was a beauty -- and he also set up Vidal's strike. With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez injured, that can only be good news moving forward. In that sense, Perez's performance also caught the eye. The youngster showed plenty of character and capped his performance with a deserved goal.

There was also a nice moment late on as Ansu Fati came on for his debut. The attacker is only 16 years and 298 days old and becomes the second-youngest player to ever represent Barca in La Liga.

Negatives

There was a 10-minute spell around the Betis goal when Barca looked nervy. Busquets' intercepted pass, which Rafinha was slow to react to, led to Fekir's goal and a series of errors followed. There was also some sloppiness in front of goal in the first half, with Rafinha especially guilty of missing chances, but they rectified that after the break.

- When is the Champions League group-stage draw?
- ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!

Manager rating out of 10

7 -- Valverde's shown he's open to change in the early weeks of the season. That's been forced in part by injuries in attack but he's also made some big decisions in midfield, with Ivan Rakitic left on the bench two weeks running. Here, his side played some brilliant football at times -- even with Messi and Suarez watching from the stands.

Player ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 -- Beaten by two absolutely stunning finishes from Fekir and Loren.

DF Nelson Semedo, 7 -- Was a menace in attack, linking well with Sergi Roberto and Perez ahead of him.

DF Gerard Pique, 6 -- The defender made his 500th appearance for the club but struggled at times in the first half. Gave away a dangerous free kick with a foul on Loren.

DF Clement Lenglet, 6 -- Like Pique, was caught out of position at times, but got away with it with some cynical fouling.

DF Jordi Alba, 7 -- Scored a good goal and linked well in the final third with Griezmann and, surprisingly, Busquets, who got forward more than usual.

MF Sergio Busquets, 7 -- Returned to the lineup after not playing in the loss to Athletic. His stray pass led to Betis' opening goal but he improved after that. Played some nice passes and set up Alba's goal.