Barcelona moved one point behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 4-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for the Catalan outfit, before Sidnei turned into his own net for the fourth goal late on.
The result has left Depor in 16th spot in the table, just one point outside of the bottom three.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.
Match statistics
DEPORTIVO
Shots: 6
On target: 2
Possession: 31%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 14
BARCELONA
Shots: 14
On target: 6
Possession: 69%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 7
Was the result fair?
In truth, it was a straight-forward and extremely comfortable evening for Barcelona, who simply had far too much for the home side in all areas of the field. It was always going to be the type of match where Depor needed to score first, but when Messi opened the scoring after 11 minutes, it was one-way traffic. After conceding the first, the second simply had to be scored by the home side, but when Messi added his second, that was effectively game, set and match.
Depor had their moments in the final third, with Isaac Cuenca a live-wire against his former club, but Barca had too much of the ball for the home side to really make their mark. Depor once operated at the top level of Spanish football, but how they fare this season is not going to depend on their results against the better teams in the division. A four-goal margin is perhaps a little harsh on the home side, but there is no doubting that Barca deserved to run out comfortable winners.
Deportivo's performance
Depor entered the match having taken four points from their last two league games, but they never really looked capable of turning that into a three-game unbeaten run. New signing Oriol Riera led the line with support from Cuenca and Ivan Cavaleiro, who fired one just over in the first period, but Barca were comfortable defensively for long spells. In fairness to the home supporters, they stayed with their side, even in the latter stages of the first period when Barca threatened to make it three or four. That support from the stands will certainly aid their hopes of survival this season.
There is not too much money in the bank this month, but Depor are rightly regarded as a big name in Spanish football and with a couple of additions, they will fancy their chances of remaining in the league this season. Led by Sidnei, who scored an own goal after 82 minutes, Depor finished strongly and their work-rate and desire cannot be called into question. It was simply a case of Barca having far too much in attack, but as touched upon above, a four-goal win is a little unfair.
Barcelona's performance
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique named exactly the same side that beat Atletico Madrid in the league last time out and the Spaniard seems to have found his strongest XI. Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez have all had their problems this season, but all three are now starting to find serious form, which is a big worry for their rivals. Ivan Rakitic also continued in the middle of the park and the Croatian has rediscovered his form from the start of the campaign in recent weeks. Going forward, Barca created chance after chance and they looked a threat each time they broke into the final third of the field.
For all the talk of Barca's defensive problems in recent seasons, they were again strong here. The Catalan outfit have the best defensive record in the league this term, with Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano both in good form. Marc Bartra also played his part in the latter stages, which is a demonstration of Barca's depth in their squad. It was not a five-star performance against Depor, but it was still hugely impressive and the title race is shaping up very nicely at the mid-point.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Lionel Messi: This is not difficult. Messi missed out on the Ballon d'Or last week, but he responded with a stunning hat-trick at the Riazor. The Argentine's first was a clever header, before he showed excellent feet inside the box to lift one past Fabricio. If the first two were good, then the third was even better as he rattled one into the corner from a wide area. Depor just could not live with Messi and they will not be the last team to struggle this season. Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice for Real Madrid earlier, but Messi went one better.
Biggest gaffe
Depor midfielder Haris Medunjanin had a brilliant chance to register in the early stages of the second half after strong work from Cuenca, but instead of releasing a strike, the 29-year-old decided to fall to the ground inside the box under pressure from Mascherano. It was the slightest of touches from Mascherano, but Medunjanin was more concerned with winning a penalty rather than trying to find the back of the net.
Referee performance
It has been a fairly quiet weekend in La Liga for officials and that was also the case here. Juan Martinez did not issue a single booking in the first period, with neither side making too many late challenges. Three yellows arrived in the second half, but Martinez was always prepared to let the play flow whenever possible, which was appreciated by both sets of players. To be blunt, he has hardly seen.
What next?
Deportivo: Depor return to league action next Sunday with a home match against struggling Granada.
Barcelona: Barca, meanwhile, travel to Elche in the league next Saturday.
Matt Law
