The visitors raced into a 3-0 lead before being pegged back to 3-2, but they held on to take all three points in a thrilling encounter at Riazor Stadium.

Iniesta, 28, admitted Tito Vilanova's men thought they had put the game to bed after 18 minutes, but urged them not to make the same mistake again.

"(It was a) crazy match. We thought we had killed it in the first half but Depor at the Riazor with its fans is difficult," Iniesta told reporters after the game.

"We leave with the feeling that we have played a tough game and this will make us learn."

Jordi Alba, Cristian Tello and Lionel Messi netted early on before a Pizzi penalty and Alex Bergantinos strike brought Deportivo back into the game after 37 minutes.

Messi restored his team's two-goal advantage, only for Pizzi to respond soon after the interval.

The sending off of Javier Mascherano appeared set to swing the game in Deportivo's favour, but Messi completed his hat-trick before Alba's own goal made for a tense finish.

On the issue of Mascherano's red card and the penalty awarded to Deportivo, Iniesta was careful in his response, opting to avoid controversy.

"The referee's job is always difficult. The penalty and the red card happened fast," the attacker said.