Barcelona’s rampant forwards put Celtic to the sword, as the Catalans recorded a 7-0 win at the Camp Nou in the opening match of group C.
Lionel Messi illuminated the contest with a superb hat-trick, while Luis Suarez notched a second half brace. Neymar scored once, but recorded four assists – the first Barcelona player to do so since Xavi Hernandez in the famous 6-2 win over Real Madrid in 2009.
Moussa Dembele saw a first half penalty saved and that was as good as it got for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who suffered his worst ever defeat as a manager.
Player Ratings
Barcelona
Marc-André ter Stegen — 8: Saved Dembélé’s penalty after bringing the attacker down in the box. Little to do otherwise.
Sergi Roberto — 7: Solid performance defensively and great in possession.
Gerard Piqué — 8: Commanded the centre of defence with his partner; played out well from the back.
Samuel Umtiti — 8: Another composed performance today; Umtiti is transitioning well into this Barcelona outfit.
Jordi Alba — 8: Overlapping was lethal and incessant. Combination play with Neymar was exquisite throughout.
Ivan Rakitić — 7.5: Played ahead of Busquets alongside André Gomes and moved the ball forward to Neymar and Messi.
Sergio Busquets — 7: One of his more comfortable nights with Celtic sitting so deep. Organised his side to stop Celtic’s attempts to counter.
André Gomes — 7: In a game where his teammates excelled, Gomes seemed a notch slower than the rest. Showed his class at times.
Lionel Messi — 9: Clinical. Scored three, and heavily involved in the bulk of build-up play.
Luis Suarez — 8: Quiet by his standards in the first half, but bagged a brace in the second. Underlined his status as the best No.9 in the world.
Neymar Jr. — 9.5: Made Cristian Gamboa look like a training cone tonight. His four assists and glorious free kick were just the tip of the iceberg, with the Brazilian pulling the strings from the left wing.
Substitutes:
Andres Iniesta — 7.5: Came on for Rakitić at half-time and made a significant different with his energy and quick passing. Netted a sensational volley – Barcelona’s fourth on the night.
Rafinha — 7: Introduced for Busqets in the 61st minute. Had very little to do but appeared comfortable in possession.
REACTION | Gunners fans shroud Ospina in praise after almost singlehandedly earning #Arsneal a point #AFC #PSG #UCL https://t.co/ZnVy5iWRdK
— Outside90 (@Outside90) September 13, 2016
Celtic
Dorus de Vries — 6: The scoreline does not justify de Vries’ contribution. However, he will go down as just another victim of this drubbing.
Mikael Lustig — 4: Poor performance. Could not handle the movement of Neymar and Alba.
Kolo Touré — 4: Struggled to organise the defence and was at fault for Suarez and Iniesta’s goals.
Erik Sviatchenko — 4: No better than his partner at centre half. Could not cope with the movement of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
Kieran Tierney — 6: Showed promising signs as he coped with the overlaps on his left flank. Also showed promising signs going forward. One for the future.
Nir Bitton — 4: Anonymous performance by the Israeli. Failed to protect his defence, allowing Suarez to get between the lines.
Patrick Roberts — 5: Showed great application in midfield, but was outclassed by Barcelona’s Gomes and Rakitić.
Cristian Gamboa — 3: Started out as a right-winger, but was moved deeper into a back five. Looked disoriented and was at fault for two of the goals.
Scott Brown — 6.5: Stand out performer for the Glasgow outfit. He put in a captain’s performance by making crucial tackles and executing swift, forward passes in transition.
Scott Sinclair — 5: Terribly isolated. However, when able to find possession he displayed pace and flair.
Moussa Dembélé — 4: Missed a first half penalty that would have hauled his team back to 1-1. Messi made it 2-0 three minutes later. Hold up play was lacking, less than a week following his virtuoso performance against Rangers.
Substitutes:
Stuart Armstrong — 5: Brought on for Roberts in the 68th minute. Made no notable contribution.
Eoghan O’Connell — 5: Conceded two goals after coming on in a double substitution with Armstrong. Let Suarez drift in behind him as the Uruguayan grabbed his second.
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