Why the Return of Lionel Messi Will Propel Barcelona to Even Greater Heights

The most astonishing thing about Barcelona's Clasico win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday was that they did it without Lionel Messi.

The Argentinian made his comeback after close to two months out injured, but the damage had been done before he got on the pitch.

Messi still dazzled, touching the ball more than any of Madrid's three attackers despite playing for a third of the time, and he helped set up the fourth and final goal.

Where we really saw him shine was after being recalled to the starting line up against Roma on Tuesday. Bar two early strikes so he could find his range, it was almost like he had never been away.

Barcelona played dazzling football, leaving the Italians' defence dazed and confused, not to mention violated with brutal frequency, as the Blaugrana won 6-1 at the Camp Nou.

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Of course, Barcelona could claim that by pressing for more goals again and again they weren't showing Roma any disrespect. They could state it would have been ruder to take pity on them and slow the game down, like they did against Madrid.

Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez fit together comfortably both on and off the field, with the latter two both appreciating that the former is the best player in the world, per Marca, so there is no tension within the group.

Seeing what Barcelona can do with Messi back will be exciting and terrifying.

Before he got injured, on September 26, Luis Enrique's men had yet to hit the heights they have since.

That's not Messi's fault; Barcelona took time to gather themselves thanks to several other injuries and players such as Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique growing into the season.

After Messi was ruled out for two months, Barcelona wavered.

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They stumbled through the clash with Las Palmas in which Messi got injured thanks to two goals from Luis Suarez. Barca did the same against Bayer Leverkusen, with the Uruguayan grabbing the winner in a relatively late two-minute comeback from a goal down.

After winning those games 2-1, they then suffered a defeat by the same scoreline away at Sevilla.

There was a break for internationals, and after that moment to catch breath, back came La Liga and a different Barcelona.

They walloped Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal, as well as executing perfect away wins over BATE Borisov and Getafe.

Another international break had no ill effects as they flew into the Clasico and ripped Madrid limb from limb.

Some wondered how Barcelona were going to work Messi back into the team, with even coach Luis Enrique describing it as "a major problem," according to Sport360.

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But of course, it was one of those "good problems" managers dream of having.

There is no real question about the front three in Barcelona's team. Nor over Busquets' inclusion.

Only two places are up for grabs, with Andres Iniesta, the captain, taking one of them the majority of the time and Sergi Roberto and Ivan Rakitic battling for the other.

Thanks to a wild amount of injuries, that hasn't been a problem yet, with Iniesta stepping out for the Roma game for a rest after delivering a performance for the ages in El Clasico.

Despite his outstanding run of form this season, it may be Sergi Roberto who fails to make the cut if Luis Enrique is forced to name his first-choice XI.

With Barcelona's machinery behind the front line working, Neymar, Suarez and Messi are going to be even more deadly.

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We've seen what the Brazilian and Uruguayan can do, and the Roma game was the first glimpse of the trident fitting together with a now-healthy midfield and a tight defence.

Barcelona produced one of the plays of the year for their second goal against Roma, which was conducted and finished by Messi. He played one-twos with Neymar and Suarez before lofting the ball over Wojciech Szczesny to double Barcelona's lead.

Running through Messi's merits is unnecessary; anyone who has watched him over the past decade in a Barcelona shirt knows what he brings.

Barcelona finally have their team form together, so Messi's return is just what they need as we enter the meat of the season.

As he did against Roma, Messi can keep the Catalans in overdrive as they aim to power through the winter with their Copa del Rey, Champions League and La Liga campaigns thriving and the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in the bag.