Lionel Messi scores brace, assists against Real Betis after starting on bench

Barca’s captain Lionel Messi was surprisingly left out of the starting line-up by coach Ronald Koeman [COURTESY]

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.