Hat-trick maestro as Barca rumble Celtic
LIONEL Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C last night.
Messi produced a stunning display, hitting a record sixth hat-trick in the competition.
He smashed home a pass from Neymar in the third minute and the Argentine maestro struck again in the 27th after Celtic’s Moussa Dembele had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Neymar curled in a free kick to stretch Barca’s lead in the 50th minute before crossing for Andres Iniesta to volley the fourth.
Messi then grabbed his third goal, overtaking Real Madrid greats Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas to reach six European Cup trebles.
Neymar laid on the sixth for Suarez and the Uruguayan completed the rout with his second strike in stoppage time.
Bayern Munich crushed Champions League newcomers Rostov 5-0 with two goals from youngster Joshua Kimmich to kick off their Group D campaign and set a competition record with their 13th consecutive home victory.
The 21-year-old Germany international struck twice in the second half after striker Robert Lewandowski converted a 28th-minute penalty and Thomas Mueller added another goal on the stroke of halftime to kill off any chances of a Russian comeback.
Kimmich’s two goals in eight minutes confirmed his fine scoring form for club and country after he grabbed his first ever league goal last week and also netted in Germany’s World Cup qualifier earlier this month. Juan Bernat swept home Bayern’s fifth in the 90th minute. The Russians, making their first group stage appearance, defended well for the first 20 minutes but were eventually overrun by the Germans, who beat Manchester United’s previous record of 12 consecutive home victories in the competition.
Bayern, who gave new coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning start in the competition, next play Atletico Madrid, who beat them in last season’s semi-finals. They also face PSV Eindhoven in their group.
Paris St Germain’s stuttering start to the season continued when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Arsenal in their Group A opener.
The hosts enjoyed a dream start when Edinson Cavani put them ahead in the first minute, but PSG wasted a handful of chances before Alexis Sanchez equalised in the second half.
Cavani headed home after just 44 seconds but gradually let Arsenal fight their way back into the game until Sanchez fired home from just inside the box in the 78th minute.
Both sides ended with 10 men after Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud tangled with PSG’s Marco Verratti and both were shown red cards.
French champions PSG, who took only one point from their last two Ligue 1 games, next travel to Ludogorets while Arsenal will host Basel on September 28.
Torrential rain before kick-off meant Manchester City’s opening Champions League Group C clash with Borussia Moenchengladbach was postponed because of safety concerns.
A downpour was followed by persistently heavy rain, leading referee Bjorn Kuipers and Uefa officials to carry out an inspection of the pitch 50 minutes before the scheduled kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.
The pitch appeared to drain well when the rain relented soon afterwards but the game was called off about 20 minutes before it was due to start.
“Torrential rainfall across Manchester throughout the evening led to flooding in the areas around the ground, which forced the decision on safety and security grounds,” a statement from the club said.
The re-arranged match will kick-off at the Etihad Stadium tonight at 8.45pm SA time. – Reuters