LONDON — It is a big claim, but a confident one, that nowhere on earth could soccer have been performed to a higher standard that at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium on Saturday night.

The outcome, Barça 3, Villarreal 1, was perhaps predictable.

The star player, Lionel Andrés Messi, could have been named that before the kickoff.

But with Villarreal the only team not to lose in La Liga at Barcelona over the past three seasons — and the only opponent that dares try to take on Barça at its own stylish game — this was a match to dream for.

It didn’t disappoint. So much has happened since the summer, so many players have struggled to come down to earth since the World Cup.