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Barcelona got the better of Leganes to stretch their lead at the perch of the table to five points.
As expected, Barcelona controlled the early exchanges and barely allowed the visitors a sniff at their goal. They were rewarded for their efforts in the 32nd minute when Dembele finished off a move he started near the halfway line.
The hosts, however, were accorded a mini-scare when Braithwaite scored to ruffle the Blaugrana feathers. Yet, Leganes’ joy was only short-lived as the introduction of Lionel Messi completely altered the complexion of the game.
In the 71st minute, the Argentine struck a fierce shot which was parried into the path of Suarez, who poked home to restore Barcelona’s advantage. Messi capped off his cameo appearance by getting on the score-sheet himself in stoppage time.
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The home side never really got out of 2nd gear but made sure they emerged victorious. While the victory places Barcelona in better stead moving forward, the defeat left Leganes rooted in the 14th spot and just a couple of points above the drop zone.
Here is a look at the players who performed admirably and those who had a sub-standard game:
#5 Hit: Martin Braithwaite
The Danish striker was entrusted with the unenviable job of keeping Barcelona’s centre-backs occupied. However, Braithwaite performed his job adroitly and constantly posed questions for the home side’s rear-guard.
The bulky striker put himself about in the offensive third and used his physicality to good effect. On several occasions, with his back to goal, he kept hold of the ball and brought his teammates into play.
To cap off an impressive display, the Dane even got onto the end of a swift counter-attack to hand Leganes a lifeline in the second half.
Though the goal acted only as a consolation towards the end, Braithwaite proved that he could provide a useful focal point for a struggling Leganes side.
The Camp Nou is one of the most daunting stadiums to play in and not many visiting centre-forwards emerge from the rubble with any credit.
Yet, on Sunday evening, Braithwaite ensured that he left the Camp Nou with his head held high.
#4 Flop: Thomas Vermaelen
The Belgian was given a rare start on Sunday at the heart of defence alongside Pique. Though the centre-back didn’t have a lot on his plate throughout the evening, he did have a crucial role to play in Leganes’ equaliser.
When the away side broke through midfield, all of Barcelona’s defenders stepped up. But, Vermaelen failed to maintain the defensive line and allowed the Leganes’ forward to get goal-side and whip a delicious cross for Braithwaite to prod home.
Apart from the error, he never looked comfortable on the ball and was troubled by the raw strength of Braithwaite.
The Belgian has been ravaged by injuries for a long time and he may just have lost the edge which once made him a highly-rated defender.
At present, he looks too rusty and slow to adapt to the rigours of the LaLiga and if Barcelona are intent on challenging on multiple fronts, they certainly need to consider options better than Vermaelen.
#3 Hit: Lionel Messi
The Argentine was rested as he didn’t start the game against Leganes. Yet, when push came to shove in the second period, Messi was the first man Valverde looked up to for inspiration and the former didn’t disappoint.
The Argentine looked sharp from the moment he stepped onto the pitch and started dictating the play. Messi played a couple of delightful cross-field passes and led the Leganes midfield a merry dance with his dribbling.
In the 71st minute, he conjured a piece of magic as he evaded the tackle of a Leganes defender to curl a goal-bound shot. Though the visiting keeper came up with a smashing save to deny Messi, the former couldn’t prevent Suarez from following in.
Additionally, he capped off a trademark Messi-Alba move by firing in a right footed shot to add gloss to the score-line.
As soon as Messi entered the fray, Barcelona looked a different animal altogether. Thus, driving home the fact that the Argentine is pivotal to the Blaugrana’s title ambitions.
The forward was on the pitch for only half an hour but still was one of the best on the night.
Yet, people shouldn’t be surprised with such displays anymore for this has astonishingly become the norm for a certain Lionel Messi.
#2 Flop: Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian has enjoyed quite a fall from grace in his first full season at Barcelona. After being signed for an eye-watering amount in excess of a hundred million, Coutinho has failed to hit the heights expected of him.
Injuries have definitely played a part in the stunting of the Brazilian’s growth yet Coutinho is just too good a player to not discover his mojo after a period on the sidelines.
Though the efforts of the midfielder against Leganes can’t be doubted, he simply had a game to forget. On numerous occasions, he stifled the home side’s progress by being overeager and overplaying.
None of the things he tried came off and he even bore the brunt of the Camp Nou faithful.
Things have turned sour pretty quickly for the Brazilian over the past few months. While he started the season as a nailed-on starter, he has now been consigned to the periphery. And if his performances don’t improve, he could just find himself frozen on the bench more for a long time.
#1 Hit: Ousmane Dembele
The Frenchman had an electrifying game on Sunday evening and enthralled those in attendance with a captivating display. Dembele was a constant menace on the right flank and it was just a shame that he had to be taken off with a suspected ankle injury.
The forward portrayed immense fleet-footedness to leave the defenders for dead at times and ran rings around the Leganes’ left-back in particular.
The Frenchman even popped up with the opener after some tidy build-up play by him.
However, the most impressive aspect of his play was his decision making. Time and again, he seemed to make the correct call and if not for his teammates’ poor finishing, Dembele could have bagged a couple of assists too.
At the start of the season, the jury was out on Dembele with many considering him too flamboyant for Barcelona’s style of play.
Yet, with each passing week, Dembele is making those doubters look very silly.
