Messi scores on return

Lionel Messi took just three minutes to score on his return from injury as Barcelona thrashed Deportivo la Coruna 4-0 on Saturday, but Barca remain two points adrift of free-scoring Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Yannick Carrasco's hat-trick and Nicolas Gaitan's first two goals for Atletico inspired a storming fightback by Diego Simeone's men to flatten Granada 7-1 after falling behind early on.

Real kept pace with their city rivals with four first-half goals of their own in a 6-1 win at Real Betis to snap a streak of four straight draws.

Barca were already 3-0 up thanks to Luis Suarez and a double from Rafinha when Messi was introduced after nearly a month out with a groin problem and wasted no time in scoring his ninth goal of the season.