Turan proving has a capable Messi back up

The Turkey midfielder stepped up in the Argentine's absence to inspire the Blaugrana to fight back from a goal down to beat Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday

All's well that ends well. That was the case for Barcelona away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday night. It was a poor performance on the whole, but all three points were won and that, in the end, is what mattered.

Arda and Pique seal comeback win for Barca
In the absence of Lionel Messi, Barca toiled and went behind to a Thorgan Hazard goal. Spanish sides usually find it tough on away trips in Germany and after Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw away to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, it was the turn of the Catalans to take on a Bundesliga rival.
With Messi missing, Barca boss Luis Enrique had been expected to select Arda Turan in attack, but instead the Asturian chose Paco Alcacer alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez. It was a decision, however, that he no doubt regretted later on.

Alcacer was anonymous in the first half, involved less than any of Barca's 10 other players including goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was making his return to the ground where he emerged as a talented youngster before moving to Camp Nou in 2014.

Alcacer completed just four passes in his 53 minutes on the pitch and saw one effort sail well off target. On this evidence, he still needs an age to adapt to his new surroundings and Barca fans may be thinking that keeping Munir El Haddadi at the club would have been a better option.

Luis Enrique defends handling of Messi
However, players need time to adjust to Barca's complex style of play and Arda is a prime example. The Turkey midfielder was disappointing in his debut season at Barca, scoring only two goals and always appearing to take too long on the ball. Sell him, many supporters said last summer.

But he has been important since then and he was again on Wednesday, stepping off the bench to blast home an equaliser with a fine finish after 65 minutes. It changed the game and not long after that, Gerard Pique converted to turn the match on its head from a set piece - and aided by a mistake from goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

However, none of that would have happened without the introduction of Arda in place of Ivan Rakitic after 59 minutes. The 29-year-old levelled the scores, changed Barca's play for the better and came close to another goal after his equaliser as he attempted an audacious lob which was pushed acrobatically over the crossbar by Sommer with the Blaugrana 2-1 up.

Arda has five goals and four assists to his name already in 2016-17 and it is still September. He has already achieved much more than he did last term and that is welcome news for Luis Enrique, especially with Messi still sidelined and Alcacer struggling.

Without Leo on Wednesday, it was Arda for Barca - and the Turk could prove to be extremley useful in the Argentine's absence.