Brendan Rodgers knew what his Celtic side was in for with Barcelona set to unleash Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in its starting XI for the first time this season.
“We understand the difficulty,” Rodgers said of the Scottish champions’ challenge at the Camp Nou on Tuesday. “We want to enjoy it, but we want to get a result.”
There was no joy to be had by Rodgers and his men. Even with Celtic putting 10 men behind the ball to try and minimize the damage, Barcelona took just three minutes to break through with the first of Lionel Messi’s three goals and amassed a five-goal lead by the 59th minute to cruise to a 7-0 victory on opening day of the Champions League group stage.
Injuries prevented Luis Enrique from deploying “arguably the best front three of all time” (Rodgers’ words) in his lineup. Both Messi and Suarez did not start over the weekend, but Messi, despite a groin problem, did play a half hour in Barca’s surprising 2-1 La Liga loss to Alaves.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar reminded everyone what they’re capable of. Messi got the rout going with his first goal off the first of Neymar’s four assists.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen fouled Moussa Dembele in the box to concede a Celtic penalty, but the goalkeeper made up for his mistake by denying Dembele’s spot kick.
Even with a 2-0 halftime lead, Barcelona was just getting warmed up. Neymar produced a free kick in the 50th minute that was reminiscent of his opening goal for Brazil in the Olympic gold medal game.
Then Andres Iniesta showed that, even at age 32, he can do some incredible things himself as he scored the goal of the game with a spectacular volley.
While the Camp Nou faithful were still celebrating Iniesta’s golazo, Messi got his third goal for the sixth Champions League hat trick of his career.
Suarez closed out the show, first with this stunning display of skill that saw him chest down Neymar’s ball over the top, turn and then blast the ball past helpless Celtic goalkeeper Dorus de Vries with a left-footed side volley.
The Uruguayan got his second goal by getting his toe on Messi’s rolling cross.
The defeat was Celtic’s 25th in its last 27 Champions League road matches. Rodgers suggested, somewhat hilariously, that things could’ve been different had Dembele converted his 24th-minute penalty.“When the ball hits the back of the net for us it would have given us a lot of energy,” he told reporters. “So I think that was a turning point.”
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said the Catalans played “at a very high level.” The three guys up front, including the one in the No. 10 shirt, had a lot do with it.
Photo: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates after completing his hat trick. (AP Photo)
