Barcelona have maintained their five point lead at the summit of La Liga after seeing off Leganes at the Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde opted to rest Lionel Messi with a Copa del Rey clash with Sevilla looming midweek but the Argentine inevitably had a role to play in the victory.
After seeing Ousmane Dembele’s opener cancelled out by Martin Braithwaite’s equaliser, Messi came off the bench and almost immediately scored with a sublime effort from outside the box.
Leganes goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar brilliantly kept out his effort but Luis Suarez was first to the rebound to scramble home, despite complaints from the visitors.
Dembele superbly filled the void left by Messi’s first-half absence, tormenting the Leganes defence before opening the scoring after 32 minutes. The France international burst free inside the box and was superbly picked out by Jordi Alba, finding the back of the net with a precise side-footed finish.
Dembele’s evening would be brought to a premature end, however, and was subbed off early in the second-half after an awkward fall.
Barca’s lacked the intensity they started the game with and were punished when Martin Braithwaite, fresh from scoring against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey midweek, pounced to level the contest after 57 minutes.
That prompted Valverde to turn to Messi, whose impact was immediate, rolling the ball inside his marker before unleashing a wonderful drive on goal.
Suarez was first to the rebound and despite claims from the away side he fouled goalkeeper Ceullar, the goal stood.
Messi did get the goal his excellent cameo deserved, combining with Jordi Alba before lashing the ball into the roof of the net in injury time.
