Luis Enrique may have done it accidentally, but Barcelona came into the game on the back of their most impressive victory of the season. For the first time in the campaign, it looked as if they were going to maintain that level of performance beyond the win against Atletico. They pinned Deportivo back from the off and quickly asserted their dominance as their intensity was simply too much for Víctor Fernández's side to handle.
The opener arrived in the 10th minute. Just moments before, the pair of Rakitic and Messi almost combined to devastating effect from a set-piece. Messi was denied by Fabricio the first time, but not the second. The Argentine was picked out with an exceptional cross once again from Rakitic and he proceeded to time his header to perfection, looping it over the Deportivo goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Lucho's side continued to pile pressure on the hosts and the second goal only seemed a matter of time. With Deportivo hopelessly failing to halt Barcelona, Messi made it 2-0 when he delicately dinked the ball over Fabricio. Neymar had found his teammate with a clever cut-back, before Messi slalomed between the Depor backline and finished with conviction.
Even though Deportivo had done little to trouble Claudio Bravo until that point, they surprisingly created a glorious opportunity immediately from the restart. The former Barcelona winger, Issac Cuenca was found by Juanfran with a low cross from the right. He escaped the defenders inside the box with ease, but in doing so he skewed his shot high and wide. Realistically, Cuenca needed to take that chance if his team were to have much of a chance in stopping Barcelona’s onslaught continuing after half-time.
Straight from the restart, Barcelona continued their intensity. Messi's third goal arrived just past the hour mark, he received a short corner and turned back on to his favoured left foot before lashing a ferocious strike into the far corner. Their pressure wasn’t quite as relentless as in the first half, but they still reaped the same rewards in terms of goals.
As full-time approached, the game entered a bit of a lull, but in rather fortuitous circumstances Barcelona scored a fourth and final goal. Dani Alves sent in a cross and Lopo cleared, but sent the ball straight towards his defensive partner, Sidnei. The Brazilian was unable to move out of the way before the ball ricocheted off of him and into the Depor goal. The own goal seemingly summed up Deportivo’s night against a Barcelona side threatening to hit some real form in the coming weeks.