Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta admitted he was relieved his side were able to claim all three points in their nine-goal thriller with Deportivo La Coruna.

Lionel Messi once again grabbed the headlines with a stunning hat-trick but that only told half the story on a night of sensational drama at the Riazor.

It seemed the Catalan club were on their way to a thumping win after Jordi Alba, Cristian Tello and Messi all struck within the first 18 minutes, but Depor replied with a Pizzi penalty and an Alex Bergantinos strike.

Messi struck his second and third in between Pizzi's second of the match and the dismissal of Javier Mascherano, while an own goal from Alba left the visitors clinging on.

That they managed to hold on to claim a 5-4 success was of great satisfaction to Iniesta, who is aware they need to continue to improve.

We're leaving with the sensation that we won a very difficult match. We have to learn a lot of things from this match.
Andres Iniesta, Barcelona midfielder

"We could have killed the game off in the first half, but Depor are dangerous and they caused us a lot of problems in defence," he told the club's website.

"We're leaving with the sensation that we won a very difficult match. We have to learn a lot of things from this match."

Alba agreed with his team-mate's assertions and hailed Depor for their resolve. "It was a very hard-fought victory, but it was very important," said the former Valencia left-back. "The important thing is that we won the game and that we're returning with the three points.

"At 2-3, the game was fairly even and it ended up being a crazy game. The team played an excellent match but we conceded four goals."

Messi continues to light up La Liga and his treble took his tally for 2012 to 59, beating his previous record of two years ago. "Statistics are only numbers. I'm only concerned with winning the three points whenever possible," said the Argentinian.