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Barcelona maintained its five-point lead at the top of La Liga after seeing Leganes at Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde chose to let Lionel Messi sit midweek in a clash between Copa del Rey and Sevilla, but Argentina inevitably had a role to play in the win.
After seeing Ousmane Dembele's opening match canceled by Martin Braithwaite's equalizer, Messi came off the bench and almost immediately scored with a sublime effort from outside.
Leganes goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar was brilliantly defeated but Luis Suarez was the first to bounce home, despite complaints from visitors.
(Getty Images)
Dembele superbly filled the void left by the absence of Messi in the first half, tormenting the defense of Leganes before opening the scoring after 32 minutes. The French international has escaped inside the ball and has been superbly selected by Jordi Alba, who found the back of the net with a precision of the foot side.
The evening of Dembele however would end prematurely and was replaced early in the second half after a difficult fall.
Barca does not have the intensity with which he started the match and was punished when Martin Braithwaite, who had just scored against Real Madrid midway through the Copa del Rey midweek, took over after 57 minutes.
This prompted Valverde to turn to Messi, whose impact was immediate, rolling the ball inside his marker before triggering a great shot at goal.
Suarez was the first to rebound and, despite the claims of the opposing team, he made a mistake on goalkeeper Ceullar, but the goal remained.
Messi scored the goal that deserved his excellent cameo, badociating with Jordi Alba before throwing the ball into the net in extra time.
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