Barcelona's Lionel Messi, third left, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal from the penalty spot during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Nov 7, 2020. (JOAN MONFORT / AP)

BARCELONA - Lionel Messi came off the bench to score twice and lead Barcelona to a 5-2 home victory over Real Betis on Saturday, snapping a four-game winless streak in La Liga for the Catalans.

Barcelona's first league victory since beating Celta Vigo on Oct 1 took them into eighth in the table with 11 points from seven games

Antoine Griezmann, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele also scored for Barca while Antonio Sanabria and Loren Moron replied for Betis, who had Aissa Mandi sent off on the hour-mark.

Barca’s first league victory since beating Celta Vigo on Oct 1 took them into eighth in the table with 11 points from seven games. Real Sociedad lead the standings with 17.

Barca’s captain was surprisingly left out of the starting lineup by coach Ronald Koeman, who later explained that Messi was feeling a little discomfort after the 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in mid-week and had agreed to start on the bench.

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Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann, center, runs with the ball between Betis' Guido Rodriguez, left, and Betis' Emerson during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Nov 7, 2020. (JOAN MONFORT / AP)

Koeman’s side played well in the first half without Messi but missed a slew of clear opportunities and found themselves drawing 1-1 when Sanabria cancelled out Dembele’s superb opening strike on the stroke of halftime.

Messi was brought on at the start of the second period and promptly produced a sublime dummy to allow Griezmann to tap into an unguarded net and put Barca back in front in the 49th minute, the Frenchman finally making amends for missing four chances before the break including squandering a penalty.

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Barcelona's Lionel Messi, second right, is challenged by Betis' Guido Rodriguez, third right, during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Nov 7, 2020. (JOAN MONFORT / AP)

Barca’s all-time top scorer Messi then further stretched their lead in the 61st by emphatically dispatching a penalty after Aissa Mandi was shown a straight red card, following a VAR review, for using his arm to block a shot from Dembele.

Today he (Lione Messi) came on and changed the game ... we were a different team when he was on the pitch.

Jordi Alba, 

Barcelona's defender

“The whole squad prefers it when Messi is on the pitch because he obviously gives you more options to win the game,” said Barca’s Jordi Alba.

“Today he came on and changed the game, he is a different player to everybody else and we were a different team when he was on the pitch.”

Koeman added: “He would have started if he hadn’t had any discomfort. We all know who he is and I don’t have any doubts about him, I see him work every day. He didn’t start but he was very important in the second half.”

Barcelona's goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, background, makes a save during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Nov 7, 2020. (JOAN MONFORT / AP)

Betis did manage to pull a goal back with 10 men when striker Loren netted at the far post to make it 3-2 after a marauding run down the left wing by Alex Moreno.

But Messi soon put the game beyond doubt, smashing the ball into the top corner after receiving a wonderful backheel from team mate Sergi Roberto, while 17-year-old Pedri struck the fifth after another fine pass from Sergi Roberto.

“The manager made a decision to not start him and in the second half he really helped us to go on and win the game,” added Alba.

“We all prefer it when he is on the pitch, we’re better with him around.”

Barcelona's Ansu Fati presses on his left knee after being by Real Betis' Aissa Mandi (not in frame) during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Betis at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Nov 7, 2020. (JOAN MONFORT / AP)

Fati tears meniscus in left knee

Barcelona’s Spain forward Ansu Fati is set for several months on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury during the match.

Ansu was caught from behind by a challenge by Betis defender Aissa Mandi after half an hour and didn't reappear for the second half of Saturday's game, being replaced by Messi, reports Xinhua.

Barca said in a statement that Fati, who turned 18 last month, had ruptured the internal meniscus in his left knee and that the club were currently weighing up different treatment options, without giving details on when he could expect to return.

Fati was included in the Spain squad for their upcoming fixtures against the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany but is unlikely to return to action for the rest of the year.

He is also set to miss Barca’s crunch Liga trip to Atletico Madrid later this month and will be a doubt for the Spanish Super Cup, set to be held in January in Saudi Arabia.

WIth Xinhua input