Lionel Messi came off the bench and scored a stunning goal to seal a 2-0 home win for Barcelona over bottom club Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday that stretched their lead at the top of La Liga to 14 points.
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With an eye on AC Milan's visit in the Champions League on Tuesday, Barca left World Player of the Year Messi and five Spanish internationals out of their starting line-up at the Nou Camp.
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Chile forward Alexis Sanchez put them in front in the 38th minute when Depor goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia could only palm his powerful downward header into the roof of the net.
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Spain's record scorer David Villa, still not back to his best after breaking his leg at the end of 2011, had earlier squandered a golden chance and made way for Messi with around half an hour left.
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The Argentina forward fluffed one effort five minutes from time but made no mistake in the 88th minute when he exchanged passes with Alexis and dinked a delightful chip over the onrushing Aranzubia into the net.
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It was Messi's 40th La Liga goal of the campaign and a record-extending 17th straight league match he had found the net.
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Barca went into the game following three defeats in their last four outings in all competitions including a 2-0 reverse in their Champions League last-16, first leg at Milan last month and bitter reverses to arch- rivals Real Madrid in the King's Cup and La Liga.