BARCELONA: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City should take note: Lionel Messi is back and showing no signs of the injury that kept him sidelined for more than three weeks.

Messi needed just four minutes to score in his return on Saturday, when he went on as a second-half substitute and completed Barcelona's 4-0 rout of Deportivo La Coruna.

Messi used one touch of his left boot to fire in a well-placed pass by Neymar, who excelled as Barcelona's playmaker throughout the Spanish league match.

The convincing win comes four days before former Barcelona coach Guardiola comes home to Camp Nou for a highly anticipated Champions League clash.

Rafina put Barcelona in control with a brace of goals after Neymar hit the crossbar early. The Brazilian midfielder won possession of the ball near Deportivo's area before opening the score in the 21st.

Rafina finished off a rebound to double the hosts' lead in the 36th before Luis Suarez equaled Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann as the league's leading scorers — with six goals — just before halftime. Neymar also set up Suarez for his goal with a threaded pass into the area.

Messi went on in the 55th to play his first minutes since straining a muscle in his groin on Sept. 21. He scored on his third touch of the ball after replacing Sergio Busquets.

Deportivo, which had earned draws in its last two league visits to Camp Nou, lost Laureano "Laure" Sanabria to a direct red card for elbowing Neymar in the face in the 65th.

Leganes 2, Sevilla 3

It took 511 days but Sevilla finally ended its winless streak away from home in the Spanish league.

Pablo Sarabia curled the ball just inside the post to secure Sevilla's 3-2 win at Leganes with five minutes remaining.

The win lifted Sevilla to the top of the standings, followed by Barcelona. Atletico and Real Madrid can pass both sides with wins later on Saturday.

Sevilla's Luciano Vietto passed for Franco Vazquez and Samir Nasri to score before Leganes rallied with two goals by David Timor and Alexander Szymanowski in the second half.

"Today we got a load off our shoulders," Vazquez said. "We won away from home and can stay at the top of the table."

Sevilla's previous away win in the league was a 3-2 win at Malaga in May 2015.