Barcelona never seem to look *quite* at their best under Ernesto Valverde. 

Camp Nou is not a place where results are all that matter.

Yet they go some way towards easing the pressure on the Blaugrana manager when his side put teams to the sword by four goals to nil. 

That's exactly what happened to Sevilla on Sunday evening. 

Barcelona were reduced to nine men when Ronald Araújo and Ousmane Dembele were sent off in the final minutes. 

The Frenchman had at least got himself on the scoresheet, where he was joined by Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and who else but Lionel Messi. 

The Argentine has played very little La Liga football this season due to injury. 

Last time he returned, it proved a step too soon and he was ruled out again. 

However, the forward made a surprise appearance in the midweek victory over Inter Milan and was back in the starting XI again for the Sevilla game. 

Boss Julen Lopetegui knows all too well what it is to suffer at the hands of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, having endured an all-too-brief spell as Real Madrid manager last season. 

Unfortunately for Sevilla, Messi was back to his brilliant best. 

Against Inter, he had registered a superb assist for Luis Suarez with an astonishing individual run that started near the halfway line. 

This time, he fancied the glory himself - and he nearly pulled it off. 

The 32-year-old went on another fantastic dribble, hopping through two defenders at once before attempting a shot on goal. 

Had it come off, there's a solid argument that it would have been one of his greatest solo efforts. 

Not to be denied the sound of a rustling net, later on in the second half, Messi stepped up and blasted home from a free-kick. 

The GOAT is back.