Barcelona 3-1 Leganes: Player Ratings
Barcelona beat Leganes 3-1 at home to move 12 points clear off second-placed Atletico Madrid. Luis Suarez missed a few good chances in the opening 20 minutes but, it wasn't long before Lionel Messi gave the Catalans the lead, scoring from a set piece.
Three minutes later, Phillipe Coutinho found Messi near the box and the Barcelona captain made it 2-0. However, the away side shocked the Camp Nou crowd when Nabil El Zhar pulled one back in the 68th minute to keep the game alive.
The team from Madrid did well of hanging in the game and were creating some good chances going forward, but a magical finish from Lionel Messi in the 86th minute killed the game off giving the Blaugrana a 3-1 win.
It wasn't an easy win for Ernesto Valverde's men, as they were made to work for their win by a high spirited and hardworking Leganes team.
Here are the player ratings:
Barcelona
Marc-André ter Stegen - 6/10
The German did not have much to do in the game but, was unlucky to lose his clean sheet when El Zhar's shot deflected off Sergi Roberto.
Nelson Semedo - 6/10
Semedo showed a great deal of composure in the build-up for the third goal as he waited for Rakitic to set himself in position instead of making a reckless pass.
Thomas Vermaelen - 7/10
The Belgian filled in very well on a rare starting opportunity that he received, finishing off with three clearances and interceptions each as well as completing 96% of his passes.
Gerard Piqué - 7/10
Pique was once again on point, both at the back and going forward, putting in two blocks four long balls and winning three aerial duels.
Sergi Roberto - 6/10
Roberto started in a left-back role as Jordi Alba was rested. A slight deflection of his heel helped the away side to get a goal back. Despite that, he slotted in well in his new and temporary position putting in two long balls and two tackles.
Ivan Rakitic - 7/10
Rakitic had the highest touches of any player on the pitch, 129, completing 116 passes and eight long balls as well as winning four tackles.
Philippe Coutinho - 7/10
Coutinho provided the assist for Messi's second goal, to spot his run in between the Leganes center backs. He had a good performance, completing two dribbles and key passes respectively.
André Gomes - 6/10
The Portuguese International didn't have much of a contribution going forward, but he did his job defensively winning four aerial battles.
Ousmane Dembele - 7/10
Dembele is slowly starting to adapt at Barcelona and it was another decent shift put in by the 20-year-old and played the ball into the box for Messi's third goal.
Luis Suarez - 6/10
Despite failing to put the ball in the back of the net from close range, Suarez had some wonderful chances throughout the game, and could have possibly grabbed two goals, but had only one shot on goal out of his three attempts.
Lionel Messi - 10/10
Messi scored a hattrick to make it 28 goals in La Liga this campaign. His first goal, as usual, was one of his trademark free kicks from the right side with the ball curling away to the far post. His second goal just needed two touches, drifting in between two defenders.
His third goal was a sublime finish, lobbing it over the face of an incoming Ivan Cuellar.
Substitutes
Jordi Alba - N/A
Alba replaced Sergi Roberto in the 73rd minute and received a yellow card late on.
Andres Iniesta - N/A
Iniesta came on for Coutinho in the 80th minute.
Denis Suarez - N/A
Came on for Dembele in the 87th minute