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Lionel Messi responded to being benched with a double in the second half as Barcelona ended a four-game winless streak in La Liga to beat Real Betis 5-2.
Surprisingly, the Barça captain was knocked out of the starting lineup by coach Ronald Koeman, whose team fell behind at half-time when Antonio Sanabria disallowed Ousmane Dembélé’s superb opening shot at the edge of the break.
But Messi was hired early in the second period and quickly produced a sublime mannequin to allow Antoine Griezmann to hit an unguarded net and put Barça back in front in the 49th minute.
The Frenchman had blown four chances before the break, including squandering a penalty, before amending himself.
Messi, who had replaced Ansu Fati, then stretched his lead in the 61st minute by sending a penalty after Aissa Mandi received a direct red card, following a VAR review, for using her arm to block a Dembélé shot.
Betis prepared a tense final 15 minutes when Loren conceded from 10 yards, but Messi closed things out in the 82nd minute after a double with Sergi Roberto.
The playmaker was denied his hat-trick by an offside flag before midfielder Pedri added a fifth in injury time, the teenager’s first goal in La Liga.
Koeman impressed by Messi’s impact
Ronald Koeman congratulates Messi after his impact from the bench
Head of Barcelona Ronald Koeman: “Since yesterday we discussed that he (Messi) had some discomfort from the game against Dynamo Kyiv. We talked and decided that it was best to leave him on the bench in case we needed him. Without discomfort, he would have played.
“We know who he is and I have no doubts about him. I see him working every day. He was not fit enough to start today, but of course his presence in the second half was really important.”
“We had a lot of opportunities and we missed the penalty and only went 1-1 at half-time. But in the second half we kept the team spirit and we could have scored more than five.
“It is an important victory, we needed the three points after the last results. In general, the team was good and the victory is deserved.”
Bundesliga: Angelino lights up Stuttgart win
Nicolás González celebrates his goal with Stuttgart on Saturday
RB Leipzig maintained their 100% record at home in the Bundesliga this season as they surpassed Freiburg 3-0 on Saturday, culminating the performance with a majestic free-kick from Angelino.
The victory brought Leipzig to the top of the table with 16 points, for at least a couple of hours until the Klassiker between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, both within one point.
Freiburg held out for 26 minutes until Marcel Sabitzer crossed to the back post where Nordi Mukiele headed to center and Ibrahima Konate swept the ball home from close range.
Emil Forsberg and Kevin Kampl almost added a second before the break, while Freiburg had only one goal attempt in the first half.
Stuttgart maintained their 100% home record in great style
Freiburg improved after the break but, just as he seemed to be returning to the game, Nicolas Hoefler pushed Christopher Nkunku into the penalty area and Sabitzer converted from the penalty spot.
Winger Angelino shot a perfect free kick off the wall to score the third in the 89th minute.
Bayern Munich Striker Robert Lewandowski hit the mark again, raising his tally to 11 league goals this season as the Bavarians rallied to beat old rivals 3-2. Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern lead the Bundesliga with 18 points from seven games, two ahead of RB Leizpig and Dortmund third with 15.
Meanwhile, Schalke 04 twice came from behind to cancel two Mainz 05 penalties and a 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga basement duel on Saturday, leaving both teams still chasing their first win of the season after seven games.
Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt came from two goals behind to tie 2-2 in VfB Stuttgart While Union Berlin whipped Arminia Bielefeld 5-0.
Serie A: Cagliari overtakes 10-man Sampdoria
Nahitan Nandez is congratulated after his goal with Cagliari on Saturday
The goals in the second half of Joao Pedro and Nahitan Nandez gave Cagliari a 2-0 win over 10 men Sampdoria who had a player sent off before the break in Serie A on Saturday.
The match turned the tide for Cagliari in the 38th minute when Nandez intercepted a poor backward pass and appeared to have a clear run to goal.
He was brought down by Tommaso Augello, who initially received a yellow card that was changed to red after a VAR review.
Cagliari took the lead three minutes after the break when Joao Pedro ran into Lorenzo Tonelli and the referee awarded a penalty that the Brazilian himself scored his fifth goal of the season.
Jakub Jankto fired wide for Sampdoria before Giovanni Simeone sent Nandez cleared to score Cagliari’s second in the 69th minute.
The Sardinians thought they had added a third when Riccardo Sottil put the ball into the net but it was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR review. The result left both sides with 10 points from seven games. Elsewhere, spice exceeded Benevento 3-0 to move to 12th place.
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