Barcelona have the quality to win without Messi.

Barcelona have lost their safety blanket, the ace in the hole that sees you through tough times, the guy whose technical ability, creativity and decision-making can make the best-laid tactical schemes redundant. That's what Lionel Messi brings to the table and the broken arm he suffered early in the Sevilla game means Ernesto Valverde will be without his services for a good three weeks. In that time, they'll play matches that matter: Inter home (and possibly away) in the Champions League, Rayo Vallecano away and, of course, next Sunday's Clasico.

It's not enough to define a season, but it can define Valverde and what he can actually do with this team. Based on recent evidence, there's plenty to do. Barca went into the Sevilla game with one win in their previous five -- against a severely under-strength Tottenham -- and while they came away with a 4-2 win, a closer look reveals all is not well.

Messi was the difference-maker in the 26 minutes he spent on the pitch, setting up Philippe Coutinho's opener and then making it two with his 12th goal of the season. But from that moment, it was all Sevilla. And while opting to play on the counter with the fleet-footed Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele on the pitch isn't necessarily a bad idea, you still need to manage your lead.

That's where Barca came up short. That defence, which hasn't kept a clean sheet since August, was all over the place, often getting overrun in midfield and conceding an industrial quantity of chances. It finished 4-2 -- Barca scored a penalty and the other was a long-distance gem from Ivan Rakitic -- but had it not been for one of the best goalkeeping performances we've seen all year (danke, Marc-Andre ter Stegen), they might even have lost this.

It's too easy to simply blame Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet, although the former, especially, is having a tough time. Pablo Machin's side are a well-drilled unit, but you still expect Barca to be able to nurse a two-goal lead at home without conceding chance upon chance. Fixing that, in many ways, ought to be as much of a priority during the Messi-less spell as finding solutions up front.

You're not going to replace Messi, so you'll need to figure out a Plan B. And there, Valverde might find a silver lining. Coutinho ought to have more freedom of movement without Messi on the pitch. Dembele, inconsistent though he may be, can stretch the opposition, and Luis Suarez -- who still has scored just twice from open play since early May -- might respond to the added responsibility. It's up to Valverde to make the pieces fit.

As for Sevilla, they came to the Camp Nou, where they often struggle, and they showed they could hang with the champions. They're still just two points off the top. You get the sense there's more to come.