Barcelona vs. Leganes: Score and Reaction from 2017 La Liga Match

Barcelona bounced back from their chastening midweek defeat to Paris Saint-Germain as they laboured to a 2-1 win over 17th-placed Leganes in La Liga at the Camp Nou on Sunday. 

Lionel Messi put the Blaugrana ahead with a tap-in after just four minutes to put the hosts in the driving seat, but Leganes more than held their own for the rest of the first half, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen was forced to make some fine saves.

Barca continued to look vulnerable after the break, and Unai Lopez levelled things up from 18 yards with 19 minutes to go. But Neymar won a penalty in the last minute, and Messi powered home the winner to save Barca's blushes.

The win moved Barcelona back into second place in La Liga, just one point behind leaders Real Madrid but having played two games more.

Both sides provided their starting lineups ahead of kick-off:

Barca were ahead in a flash. Luis Suarez was released on the left by Neymar and played a perfectly weighted ball with the outside of his right boot into the six-yard box for the onrushing Messi to tap home.

Given how poor the Blaugrana's superlative attacking trio were in the 4-0 defeat to PSG in the UEFA Champions League, it would have pleased under-fire manager Luis Enrique to see them combine so effectively.

There was a mixed reaction to the boss in the Camp Nou, per La Liga writer Rik Sharma:

The slick interplay between Neymar, Suarez and Messi for the goal was not always present in the first half, though.

Leganes caused Barca a number of problems, and Ter Stegen saved on three occasions from Nabil El Zhar.

The German goalkeeper initially stayed big after El Zhar had beaten the offside trap before keeping out the Moroccan's effort from the rebound, and then Ter Stegen showed excellent reflexes to thwart his deflected effort from the edge of the box.

The other moment of true quality in the first half involved a neat exchange between Suarez and Messi, and the Argentinian would have made it 2-0 with his left-footed flick had it not been for Iago Herrerin's fine stop.

Squawka provided the key stats from the first 45 minutes:

In the 55th minute, Barca were again exposed at the back as a long ball from the Leganes goalkeeper was headed on to put Miguel Angel Guerrero through on goal.

Ter Stegen made another fine stop to keep Barca ahead, but it was a further warning sign for Barcelona.

Rafinha almost put the game to bed as he skipped through on goal in the 68th minute, but his effort was cleared off the line.

And three minutes later, Leganes tied the game up at 1-1, with Lopez side-footing home from the edge of the box after a cutback from Darwin Machis.

After all his earlier heroics, Ter Stegen should arguably have done better to keep out a shot that was very close to him, per Sport:

The hosts pushed forward in search of a winner, but Leganes barely gave up a chance. That was until Martin Mantovani fouled Neymar in the box in the final minute, and Messi blasted a brilliant finish into the top corner to snatch victory.

Post-Match Reaction

Enrique commented afterwards that he understood the reaction he got from some of Barca's fans on Sunday given the PSG result, per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan:

Meanwhile, Ter Stegen admitted it was a difficult night for the hosts, per La Liga: "It was tough, but in the end what counts are the three points. There are always areas where we can improve."