Barcelona 7 - 0 Celtic: Hoops annihilated in Camp Nou

Celtic suffered the heaviest European defeat in the club's history as Brendan Rodgers' side lost 7-0 in the opening game of their Champions League campaign.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Sep 2016, 21:40 BST
Updated 4th Oct 2016, 14:00 BST

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Scott Brown surveys the damage as Celtic lose 7-0 in the Nou Camp. Picture: GettyScott Brown surveys the damage as Celtic lose 7-0 in the Nou Camp. Picture: Getty
Scott Brown surveys the damage as Celtic lose 7-0 in the Nou Camp. Picture: Getty

Lionel Messi netted a hat-trick while goals from Neymar, Andrés Iniesta and a double from Luis Suárez ensured a miserable night for the Scottish champions, who came into the game off the high of an emphatic 5-1 win over Rangers just three days previous.

Barca lived up to the tag of heavy pre-match favourites as soon as the third minute when Messi opened the scoring. Arguably the greatest player of all time was left all alone in the Celtic penalty area and he powered into the back of the net from a tight angle.

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Celtic managed to withstand some heavy pressure in the proceeding 20 minutes and could have been level when Moussa Dembele won the visitors a penalty. The young Frenchman elected to take the spot-kick himself and saw his effort saved by Marc-André ter Stegen.

Moussa Dembele wins the penalty for Celtic that he would later miss. Picture: AFP/GettyMoussa Dembele wins the penalty for Celtic that he would later miss. Picture: AFP/Getty
Moussa Dembele wins the penalty for Celtic that he would later miss. Picture: AFP/Getty

Barcelona responded with a 19-pass move which ended in Messi doubling the advantage after playing a terrific pair of one-twos with Suarez.

Things didn’t get any better for Celtic after the break as Neymar made it 3-0 with a wonderfully curled free-kick. Dorus de Vries got his hand to the effort but couldn’t keep it out.

From there the match quickly slipped away from the away side as Barcelona scored twice in as many minutes around the hour mark.

First Iniesta produced arguably the goal of the night with a stunning volley from a Neymar cross, then Messi completed his hat-trick by converting a Suarez cutback.

Lionel Messi celebrates. The Argentine bagged a hat-trick on the night. Picture: APLionel Messi celebrates. The Argentine bagged a hat-trick on the night. Picture: AP
Lionel Messi celebrates. The Argentine bagged a hat-trick on the night. Picture: AP

The Uruguayan international finally managed to get on the scoresheet himself, swivelling and firing into the roof of the Celtic net after breaking the offside trap. He then doubled his tally on the night by tucking away a Messi cross.

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Related topics:Lionel MessiCelticBrendan RodgersChampions LeagueBarcelona