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A 27th-minute strike by Frenkie de Jong was enough to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Huesca at the Estadio El Alcoraz.
Ronald Koeman welcomed back his captain Lionel Messi into the starting lineup, with Antoine Griezmann dropped to the bench, while Jordi Alba and Ousmane Dembele also started.
The Catalan giants began the game on the front foot and created the first chance as early as the fifth minute when a poorly cleared ball found Messi in the area but the 33-year-old inexplicably shot wide from close range.
More chances continued to fall Barcelona's way, with Pedri heading over from six yards, while Dembele saw his goal-bound shot blocked.
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The visitors, however, got the lead their dominance deserved when Messi played an exquisite cross to the back post and De Jong was on hand to score with an excellent finish.
From then on, it was one-way traffic but Barcelona failed to add to their tally, despite fashioning several good chances.
The longer the game went, the more Huesca grew in confidence and the hosts upped the ante in the dying stages of the game, although they failed to truly test Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ultimately, Barcelona held on to climb up to fifth spot on the La Liga table and here, we shall be having a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Barcelona pick up a much-needed victory
With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid having already kicked off the year with wins, the onus was on Barcelona to come through in Aragon.
The Blaugrana had ended 2020 on a sour note, as they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Eibar at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona's poor start to the season means they are already virtually out of the title race but they need to keep posting positive results if they want to keep their slim hopes of winning the Spanish top-flight intact.
Despite not playing at their fluid best, Barcelona held on for the win against Huesca and considering their current struggles, the three points would help ease some of the pressure on Ronald Koeman.
Up next for the Catalans will be a trip to the San Mames to take on Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and Barcelona fans would be hoping the club can keep the momentum going in 2021.
#4 Alvaro Fernandez brings his A-game to keep the scoreline respectable
That the game ended in just a 1-0 defeat for Huesca owed much to the hosts' goalkeeper who was almost unplayable on the night.
22-year-old Alvaro Fernandez had started the season as a backup option to Andres Fernandez but he has since reclaimed his number one spot and his performance against Barcelona showed why.
He was unarguably the standout performer for the hosts and made a series of fine stops from Dembele and Messi to deny the visitors a second goal.
His standout save came from a Messi free-kick three minutes before half-time, where his sharp reflexes were on full display to tip the Argentine's effort over the bar.
The former Osasuna man also showed great anticipation to prevent Messi from pouncing on a loose backpass late in the match and despite ending the game on the losing side, Fernandez can take solace in what was a fine performance.
#3 Confident Pedri continues upward trajectory with another dominant performance
In what has been a poor campaign for Barcelona, one source of joy for fans of the club has been the development of several young players.
The likes of Ronald Araujo, Sergino Dest, and Pedri have all grown in leaps and bounds in the opening weeks of the season but the latter has been the pick of the bunch.
When the 18-year-old was signed from Las Palmas, many expected him to be sent to the Barcelona B team for development but Ronald Koeman had other plans and thrust him straight into first team action.
So far, he has played in all 16 of the Blaugrana's La Liga fixtures, starting 10, and he was once again at the heart of everything Barcelona created against Huesca.
Pedri gave a performance that belied his age and was not afraid to demand the ball and charge forward in a bid to make things happen, although he was guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance midway through the first half.
His burgeoning partnership and understanding with Lionel Messi is also another source of positivity and the two men combined several times during the game.
In total, the former Las Palmas man played four key passes, the highest in the game, completed one dribble and made two tackles.
#2 Problems compound for newly-promoted Huesca
Huesca showed great determination to finish top of the Segunda Division and secure promotion after just one year out of the Spanish top-flight.
They have, however, found the going tough on their return to La Liga and currently sit bottom of the table after 17 games.
Their defeat to Barcelona means that they have accrued just 12 points from their opening 17 outings and are currently seven points away from safety.
This is not entirely reflective of how they have played and Huesca can consider themselves unlucky to be in their current position, as they have arguably not been outplayed in most of their games.
It was a similar case against Barcelona and despite struggling in the first half, the hosts grew into the game and ended the match as the more dominant side, although they once more finished empty-handed.
Speaking after the game, Huesca manager Michel admitted that his side were too timid in the first half and showed Barcelona too much respect but became more confident after the break.
Nevertheless, one win from 17 games is simply not good enough and Los Azulgranas have to start picking up more points if they are to avoid suffering an immediate drop to the Segunda Division.
#1 Motivated Messi celebrates landmark game for Barcelona
When the clock struck 12 am on January 1st, billlions around the world celebrated the ushering in of a new year but fans of Barcelona had reason to worry.
That date officially signified that their captain Lionel Messi was free to start discussing with other clubs and can ostensibly agree to a pre-contract agreement before the end of the season.
This is a scenario that no Barcelona supporter wants to envisage and the six-time Ballon d'Or winner showed why with an inspired performance against Huesca.
Having been given an extended Christmas break by Barcelona, the Argentina international returned to the starting lineup in bright spirits and was at the center of everything his club created.
In what was his 500th La Liga game and 750th appearance in all competitions, Messi was almost at his mercurial best as a meandering maverick, dropping deep in a bid to control proceedings.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet on his landmark game, the 33-year-old still made a mark by registering his 300th La Liga assist for Frenkie de Jong to open the scoring.
He would have also gotten on the scoresheet but for some fine goalkeeping by Alvaro Fernandez.
Messi now sits just five games behind Xavi Hernandez on the appearance list for Barcelona in La Liga and 17 adrift of the legendary Spanish midfielder in all competitions.
At this rate, it is just a matter of time before Messi becomes the record appearance maker for Barcelona and fans of the club would hope they can continue to witness his magic first-hand for years to come.
