Lionel Messi was back to his brilliant best as the Barcelona captain scored twice and assisted for two of his teammates as Valladolid were put to the sword.
Ernesto Valverde's side ran out comfortable winners at Camp Nou, with Messi scoring with a trademark free kick and a powerful left-foot drive as well as laying on sublime assists for teammates Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez to score in a 5-1 win.
His performance had his manager, teammates and even the opposition gushing.
"What can I say?" Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said when asked about Messi's display. "Every time he gets it [the ball], something happens, good for us and bad for them.
"He has this talent that nobody else has. It's not just that he makes one move and unbalances them, but he sees what nobody else sees.
"I'm convinced that what he sees, you can't even see from the stands. And now he looks fresher. We're happy because he's doing well and because we're enjoying how he plays."
The victory took the Spanish champions back to the top of La Liga on 22 points from 10 games with second-placed Granada not in action until Wednesday and Atletico Madrid held at Alaves.
Barcelona began the season in shaky form with Messi sidelined through injury, but since their captain started for the first time, on September 24, they have won their seven matches in all competitions.
Before that they managed just two wins in six games, suffering defeats by Athletic Bilbao and Granada.
Barca were ahead after only two minutes thanks to Clement Lenglet's deflected effort but were pegged back by Kiko Olivas' leveller 13 minutes later.
But with Messi firing on all cylinders, keeping parity with the Catalans was always going to be a tall order for Sergio Soriano's side.
Messi, whose goal against Slavia Prague last week saw him become the first player to score in 15 consecutive Champions League campaigns, played a fantastic pass to set up Vidal, who put Barcelona 2-1 up, Messi netted the third with a spectacular goal from a free kick, the 50th such strike of his career.
The forward added another goal in the second half with a slick swivel, gentle touch and drilled finish, before slipping in Suarez for the fifth.
"Leo showed all the quality he has, when he's like that the team really feels it," Barca's Chile international midfielder Vidal said.
"We see him every day and he surprises us every day, with the quality he has, he’s from another planet. I have no words to talk about Leo. He’s from another world, everything he does, he does well."
"They are very good and they don’t let you off the hook, Messi worked wonders," said Valladolid captain Michel. "You just have to applaud [Messi] and enjoy him."
