Neymar, Messi in top form

Lionel Messi and Neymar put on separate masterclasses in the Champions League yesterday, while Mohamed Salah lacked the spark to lift Liverpool.

Messi scored twice, helped create two more with perfect passes, and had two shots strike a post in Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Tottenham at Wembley Stadium.

Neymar went one better with three goals in PSG’s 6-1 rout of overmatched Red Star Belgrade. The French champions’ other superstar forward, Kylian Mbappe, was also on target.

Salah was the star of Liverpool’s run to the final last season but has made a slow start this time, and the entire team failed to get a single shot on target in a 1-0 loss at Napoli. The winning goal came in the 90th-minute from striker Lorenzo Insigne.

Barcelona’s impressive display extended the team’s perfect record at England’s national stadium – four wins spread across 26 years.

It took just 92 seconds for Philippe Coutinho to open the scoring for Barcelona. Ivan Rakitic added a stunning volley in the 28th minute to put the visitors 2-0 up.

Messi hit the post before Harry Kane halved the deficit in the 52nd minute, but the Argentine forward restored the two-goal advantage within four minutes with a deft shot. Tottenham hit back through Messi’s Argentina team-mate Erik Lamela.

In the 90th minute, Messi was set up by Luis Suarez and extended his record against English clubs to 22 goals in 29 games.

In a stellar week for Argentina forwards, Mauro Icardi scored the decider in Inter Milan’s 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven.

Neymar’s star turn on home turf served as a riposte to critics of his lacklustre performance when PSG lost 3-2 at Liverpool two weeks ago. Neymar started and finished the 6-1 rout with stunning free-kicks, in the 20th and 81st minutes, and also scored in the 22nd.

Liverpool’s high-energy style against PSG was missing in Naples, and Dries Mertens almost won it with a shot that struck the crossbar minutes before Insigne struck.