Barcelona restored their five-point lead over Atletico Madrid at the top of the La Liga standings with a 3-1 win over Leganes at Camp Nou on Sunday night.
Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring in the 32nd minute as the hosts dominated proceedings but were pegged back against the run of play just before the hour mark when Martin Braithwaite scored from the away side’s first shot.
Lionel Messi started the encounter on the bench but was brought on in the 64th minute and inspired the Catalans to victory.
His curling effort from distance was initially saved by Ivan Cuellar in the 71st minute before Luis Suarez turned in the rebound. The Argentine then got on the score sheet himself when he combined with Jordi Alba before finishing with aplomb during injury time.
Here, we rate the performances of the Barca players.
STARTING XI (4-3-3)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Had no saves to make and conceded against the run of play. Was excellent with the ball at his feet and distributed well. 6
Sergi Roberto – Generated plenty of width but didn’t venture into the final third as much, tucking in and sweeping up behind Dembele instead. 6
Gerard Pique – Great play in the build-up to the opener as he carried the ball out from the back under pressure. Decent in defence. 7
Thomas Vermaelen – Looked a shade rusty and could’ve done better to anticipate the danger ahead of Leganes’ goal. 5
Jordi Alba – Went forward at will and set up Dembele for the opener and Messi for the third while also getting involved in a couple more good moves. Was caught up field for the equaliser. 7
Carles Alena – Tidy with his passing but his close control and dribbling caught the eye. Linked up well with Dembele and was a creative spark in midfield. 7
Sergio Busquets – Recycled possession dutifully but wasn’t able to force the issue when trying to play forward passes. Booked for a cynical foul. 5
Arthur – Kept the ball very well and was involved in some neat interplay but struggled to find the telling pass. 6
Ousmane Dembele – Dazzled with his dribbling and scored the opener. Could’ve had more though as he was the chief threat. Had to go off injured in the second half. 8
Luis Suarez – Was a constant threat in attack and scored off a rebound after Messi’s effort. Another effort was saved comfortably at the death. 7
Philippe Coutinho – Had some good moment during the build-up but his shooting was wayward, squandering a couple of decent opportunities. 6
SUBS
Lionel Messi (64′) – Game changer. Leganes stood no chance the moment he stepped onto the pitch. Dragged Barca into the lead when the rebound from his shot was turned in before scoring with a thumping effort in injury time. There was so much more to his display though. Simply spectacular. 8
Ivan Rakitic (64′) – Provided more thrust from midfield and had a late effort that sailed over. 6
Malcom (69′) – A couple of good moments in the final third but nothing to write home about. 5
