Barcelona vs. Deportivo: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Lionel Messi scored on his return from injury as Barcelona picked up three points in La Liga action by beating Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Having lost 4-3 to Celta Vigo before the international break, Barca made an emphatic statement early on against Depor, with a Rafinha double and a Luis Suarez strike putting manager Luis Enrique's side 3-0 ahead before the break.

Messi was introduced in place of Sergio Busquets 10 minutes after half-time, and he was quick to mark his return as he made it 4-0 two minutes before the hour.  

Sport provided Barcelona's lineup before kick-off:

Meanwhile, Depor posted their starting XI on their Twitter feed:

Inevitably, the hosts dominated the play from the off. Depor looked to press Barca's defence but were largely ineffective early on.

Their best chance of the early exchanges fell to Florin Andone after some intricate buildup play, but he fired high and wide in the 17th minute. 

Barcelona, meanwhile, nearly went ahead in the eighth minute as Neymar's effort rattled the crossbar, only for Suarez to head the rebound over.

Neymar then whipped a free-kick over the bar in the 14th minute, and the visitors were fortunate to still be level.

However, in the 21st minute, Rafinha broke the deadlock. He did well to win the ball back near Depor's box, exchanged passes with Suarez and then drilled a right-footed finish into the back of the net.

Visiting goalkeeper German Lux got a hand to it and really should have done better, per AS:

Just 15 minutes later, Lux was picking the ball out of his net again. This time he made an impressive save from Gerard Pique's headed effort after Neymar's free-kick delivery, but he could not hang on, and Rafinha stabbed home the rebound.

Things got worse for Depor two minutes before half-time as Suarez got on the scoresheet. Neymar found the Uruguayan near the penalty spot with a clever sliding ball, and Suarez made no mistake as he made it 3-0 with a left-footed finish, per Sport:

Suarez did not return for the second half as he was replaced by Paco Alcacer.

Eight minutes after the break, Depor had a rare chance, with Andone finding himself in space in the box only for his shot to be blocked by a flying Pique.

Huge cheers rang around the Camp Nou to celebrate Messi's return to the pitch two minutes later, and with almost his first touch he found the net, per Barcelona:

Neymar picked out his Argentinian team-mate in the box with a brilliant reverse pass, and Messi's pinpoint, left-footed shot ballooned the roof of the net.

From there it was a matter of damage limitation for the visitors, and they were indebted to goalkeeper Lux that Barca netted no more goals as he kept out Messi and Alcacer, twice, with excellent saves.

Laure was shown a straight red card in the 65th minute for elbowing Neymar in the face but, although it hardly helped his side, the game had long escaped Depor's grasp. 

Post-Match Reaction

Double goalscorer Rafinha hailed Messi after his successful return to action following his groin injury, per Barcelona:

Meanwile, Enrique was rightly delighted at his side's performance and the ease with which they found the net, per Barca: "Depor are a side that concede few goals, but we created many chances and scored four. I'm very happy with the team's effort. We played a very complete game."