Barca make changes but sweep past Leganes

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique pulled the tactical strings and was rewarded with a convincing win as his side claimed all three points in what could have been a potentially tricky game at home to newly promoted Leganes with a 5-1 win on Saturday.

The Barca boss surprised everyone by playing a three man defense and using Jordi Alba and Rafinha as wing backs to help open up a tightly organized Leganes defense.

Meanwhile Sergio Busquets was rested allowing Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic to make up an unfamiliar looking central midfield.

Leganes had already held Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw in their Butarque stadium and following Barca's home defeat to Alaves a week ago, this could have been a test of Barca's nerve.

However, they needed just 15 minutes for Leo Messi to open the scoring with the first of two goals in the game. Luis Suarez was the creator with a run down the right and his pass left Messi with a tap in.

The pair exchanged roles on the half hour as Messi's run through the heart of the home defense left Suarez with a simple finish and after Ter Stegen denied Machis Leganes' first home goal in the top-flight, Neymar added a third to make the points virtually safe by halftime.

Messi netted his second from the penalty spot 10 minutes after the break after Neymar had been fouled and Rafinha scored the goal of the game in the 64th minute.

The Brazilian cut in from the right before beating Jon Ander Serrantes with a curling shot into the far corner of the net.

Leganes recovered some pride when Gabriel netted a free kick to make it 5-1, but the closing minutes of the game saw Barca run the clock down, as Enrique used his full quota of substitutes.

The result shows Barca can rotate their squad, as long as Messi, Neymar and Suarez all play, as they surely will on Wednesday at home to Atletico Madrid. Endit