Supercopa de España: FC Barcelona 0-0 Atletico Madrid: Player Ratings

My vote for the man of the match, Valdes, had a game reminiscent of times three, four seasons ago when the Barça goalkeeper had the best years of his career. A commanding presence behind the defensive line Valdes was confident in collecting every cross that he went for. But more importantly he made three saves in the match, two of them magnificent. On the first he showed exceptional reflexes to stop Arda Turan's hot shot, while on the second he exhibited good anticipation making a step in the right direction even before David Villa fired on goal.

It was a very physical game for Dani who found himself on the receiving end of several "strong" challenges, including the one that resulted in Filipe Luis' red card. As usual Alves was very involved in the attacking phase of the game, but this game he was also reliable in defense. On a couple occasions I remember him losing the ball in attack, but he tracked back and in the end recovered the ball himself. Alves' crosses, however, were again very poor as only one of the seven found a Barcelona player. And he did little to try and block Villa's shot in the 56th minute.

Pique exhibited confidence that was missing in previous games yesterday. In the opening 30 minutes he was by far Barcelona's best defender making two plays that disrupted Atletico's counter attacks. It wasn't all peachy, however, as a missed sliding tackle on Arda resulted in a golden opportunity for the Turk, and Pique also picked up a yellow card after he misread the play allowing Filipe to get past him. But all in all it was a definite step in the right direction for Pique who will have to show more consistency if Barça want to contend for more silverware this season.

Another game, another solid performance by El Jefecito. In the opening phase of the game Mascherano was fairly quiet, but afterward he started racking up tackles and clearances. One of the most impressive stats from the Argentinian's game last night is the fact that he completed 17 of 19 long passes – by far the most on the team. But like his defensive partner Mascherano also found himself out of position on a couple occasions - like on Arda's chance at the end of the first half

Given a little more defensive duties Alba put in what could be defined as his best performance of the season. Don't get me wrong, he was still involved in the attack showing good dribbling, and winning a free kick on the left side. But Alba was more defensively responsible this time around, making a couple good plays on Diego Costa who was running circles around him in the first leg. There is still room for improvement, but the fact that his passing exhibited crispness of last season is a good sign that Jordi is returning to form.

Full disclosure: I didn’t actually watch the game. Instead, I’ve had to make do with an extended highlights package – so forgive me if I miss out any major talking points.

On Wednesday evening, Sergio Busquets once again demonstrated why he starts ahead of Alex Song, anchoring the Barça midfield in typically assured fashion. Unlike the Cameroonian, Busquets is capable of drawing a number of fouls – without ever really over-stepping the mark himself, which further helps the Blaugrana retain possession for longer than any other team on the planet. Unfortunately, his efforts and Barcelona’s vast amount of possession didn’t lead to a goal, but it’s encouraging to see just how quickly Busquets has adapted to Gerardo Martino’s changes.

Xavi started his fourth game in succession on Wednesday, and was still one of the best players on the field of play. Concerns over his fitness are – in my opinion – somewhat exaggerated and premature; Barcelona needs his composure in the middle of the park, particularly in a tough, physical match like this. It’s also worth noting that it was Xavi who got the "assist" for Pedro’s penalty call.

Prior to the start of the game, most Culés were campaigning for Cesc Fàbregas to start against Atletico Madrid, yet by the hour-mark, I saw many who then asked for the introduction of Andrés Iniesta – which pretty much sums up Fàbregas’ spell at the club. He’s been great, then good, then out of the team – partly because he isn’t gifted with the same sort of adulation reserved for the likes of Iniesta and Xavi. Still, the stats indicate that Fàbregas had a decent night; setting up Neymar’s early chance as well as registering Barça’s only shot on target.

Alexis came within inches of making contact with Jordi Alba’s low cross in the first-half – and had he connected, Barça might have been celebrating a goal. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite stretch far enough and had a relatively quiet night on the right-hand side of attack, almost certainly as a result of Neymar starting on the left, as well as Alves’ constant presence on the right.

Back in the team after missing the weekend’s win over Malaga, Lionel Messi’s Wednesday evening can be summed up in five words: fouls, and a missed penalty. Targeted by the "enthusiastic" Atletico defense, Messi won seven fouls – and that only reflects the challenges that the referee saw, or at least acted upon. That figure could have easily reached double digits, and as a result of this rough treatment, Messi struggled to really influence the match. On another night, he might have buried his early chance or his penalty, but hey, not everyone can be perfect all the time, right?

Hard-working, talented, and Brazilian; Neymar pretty much has all the traits required to succeed at FC Barcelona, although it’s safe to say that he has some work to do after his first start in Blaugrana colours. It’s not that he played badly, but that we all knew that he can be a lot better.

Pedro replaced Alexis Sánchez with less than half-an-hour left to play, and made a huge impact on the game, winning a penalty which Lionel Messi uncharacteristically failed to convert. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet cameo performance from the Spaniard.

Thanks to the heroics of Victor Valdés, Barcelona managed to keep Atletico off the scoresheet and ultimately that was enough for them to secure their 11^th Supercopa victory – and who can be disappointed with another trophy? The performance could have been better, but it’s equally important not to peak too early in the season.

Four matches into his Barcelona reign, Gerardo Martino has won his first trophy, conceded just one goal and is yet to taste defeat – putting him ahead of both Tito Vilanova and Pep Guardiola. Time will tell whether Martino can replicate their success, but the early signs are very promising indeed.

Valdes secured his second successive MoTM Award in a landslide, with 62% of the vote.