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Goals from Ansu Fati and Lionel Messi sealed a hard-fought win for La Liga leaders Barcelona as they overcame a stiff Leganes challenge on Tuesday evening.
Leganes started brighter at the Nou Camp and could've gone 2-0 up themselves after striker Miguel Angel Guerrero came close with two promising attempts in dangerous counter-attacking moves. His second attempt flashed narrowly wide of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's far post just a few minutes after a goalline clearance by Clement Lenglet denied his first effort.
Fati, making his first start since mid-February, combined with full-back Junior Firpo inside the box before slamming home with aplomb on the stroke of half-time.
In the second half, Antoine Griezmann had a close-range finish correctly ruled out for offside by VAR, as substitute Nelson Semedo was fractionally ahead of the play when Messi fed the ball into his path. However, Messi himself got on the scoresheet just four minutes later.
Hauled down to the ground by Jonathan Silva after a marauding run through midfield from the halfway line, the Barcelona captain made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick to score his 21st league goal of the campaign and his 699th goal for club and country.
The hosts were still not satisfied with their two-goal cushion and continued to probe in search of more goals as fresh legs were introduced by both sides. La Masia graduate Riqui Puig came close with a powerful effort late on, while ter Stegen was called into action to acrobatically tip Kevin Rodrigues' free-kick wide.
Despite flashes of their collective brilliance, Barcelona prevailed without being on top form. With a hectic fixture schedule, it'll be interesting to see how Quique Setien will rotate his squad going forward and whether the Catalans can continue their winning run between now and the season's end in July.
Tuesday's result at the Nou Camp, together with Espanyol's goalless draw at Getafe, means Leganes now occupy the bottom of the standings and face an uphill climb to avoid relegation this summer.
Without further ado, here's a look at five hits and flops from Barcelona's latest victory:
#5 Flop: Chidozie Awaziem, Leganes
Not playing alongside his usual centre-back partner Kenneth Omeruo, Chidozie Awaziem was slow to react in dangerous situations throughout the evening and this ultimately proved to be costly.
Griezmann and Fati, in particular, got the better of him far too easily, with the latter showing good composure to open the scoring while the Nigeria international was caught ball-watching.
Although the former's goal was correctly ruled offside, you could see Awaziem's lack of awareness on display again as he failed to sense the danger fast enough to snuff Semedo's pass out before it got to the Frenchman inside the area.
He was also reckless in the tackle, committing four fouls over the 90 minutes and his distribution was poor (72.2%). The 23-year-old struggled to impose his defensive quality in a game where they needed him to step up and ended up being a weak link.
#4 Hit: Ansu Fati, Barcelona
Making his first start since February, Ansu Fati looked incredibly promising in the early exchanges and combined quite well with Junior Firpo.
However, he also became increasingly isolated out on the left-hand side and when he did receive possession, he usually opted for a safer pass or decision, reducing the risk of being countered high up the pitch.
Crucially though, Fati showed precisely why he was in the team just before half-time. He was composed under pressure and slammed home a clean finish through traffic inside the area, following tenacious work by Firpo to battle past two defenders in the build-up.
Leganes goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar did well to react quickly whenever danger was lurking in his area, but he had no chance as Fati drilled his strike into the bottom corner.
Netting his fifth league goal of the season certainly boosted his confidence as he took on players with more conviction before being replaced by Luis Suarez ten minutes into the second half.
Being preserved for later days perhaps? We'll have to wait and see. For now, Fati has once again shown why he's Barcelona's secret weapon in the final third.
#3 Flop: Jonathan Silva, Leganes
It's never an easy task facing Barcelona, especially as an opposition defender. Leganes full-back Jonathan Silva learned this the hard way as he displayed one of his worst performances this season on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old made two interceptions and one tackle but should have done so much more defensive work on the pitch. His captain Unai Bustinza was busier as a direct result of trying to cover for him, especially when Messi's influence grew during the game.
Silva struggled in possession (68% pass success), won just two of his six duels and committed two fouls - including the challenge that led to the penalty, from which his compatriot scored.
Although he pleaded his innocence to referee Juan Martinez Munuera, conceding a rather needless penalty with plenty of players still surrounding Messi typified an evening to forget.
#2 Hit: Clement Lenglet, Barcelona
Having missed Barcelona's 4-0 win over Mallorca through suspension, Clement Lenglet returned to partner Gerard Pique as the Blaugrana earned another gritty clean sheet.
The Catalan giants could have been staring down a two-goal deficit in a match that once again highlighted their defensive weaknesses, but largely had Lenglet to thank for keeping their opponents' attacks in check.
A tendency to push their fullbacks up in possession often leaves Barcelona exposed in transition on counter-attacks. While Pique isn't the quickest, Lenglet's acceleration is an underrated asset of his game and one he used well to remove danger under pressure.
He cleanly dispossessed Javier Eraso before anticipating danger and sweeping Guerrero's effort away from Barcelona's goalline after the rebound fell to the striker.
Lenglet remained the epitome of composure in possession too, with a game-high 96.9% pass accuracy on 124 completed passes, with the only blemish on his fine return being a booking following an aerial duel later in the game.
While young Ronald Araujo also impressed, doing his reputation no harm this past weekend, Lenglet proved why he remains Barcelona's first choice in central defence when available.
#1 Hit: Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Last but certainly not the least, Barcelona captain Lionel Messi was once again the hosts' best player in an evening where fine margins determined the outcome of the fixture.
The Argentine ace did his utmost to create defence-splitting passes for his teammates, who made the right runs to make the most of his creativity.
Pique and Suarez were close to latching on to his lofted deliveries while an inch-perfect pass for an overlapping Semedo proved too good to be true in the build-up to Griezmann's disallowed finish.
Messi's determination and deceptive levels of agility were on full display as he launched an attack from seemingly nothing near the halfway line. He combined with Suarez before drawing a penalty after a combination of Ruben Perez and Silva hauled him down to the ground.
After a three-minute delay, the 32-year-old showed nerves of steel as he sent Cuellar the wrong way and slotted his well-taken penalty into the bottom corner.
With a goal, four completed dribbles and 11 of 23 duels won, it's fair to say Leganes' backline struggled to get the better of Messi - even though they put two or three players on the Barcelona talisman in a futile attempt to slow him down.
