Watch Lionel Messi, Neymar and Barcelona absolutely dismantle Celtic
Any qualms about Barcelona's ability to bounce back from a stunning weekend loss to La Liga minnows Alaves were cast aside in a grand total of three minutes on Tuesday. That's the amount of time it took Messi to get Barcelona on the board behind a threaded pass from Neymar.
And the Blaugranas were far from finished. After Marc-Andre ter Stegen redeemed himself with a penalty save after a needless foul in the box, Barcelona regained their focus. Messi and Neymar combined for another nifty move, picking apart Celtic's traffic-cone defense to double Barca's lead.
Cruising into the half with a comfortable lead and no real pressure from the visitors, it'd be totally understandable if Barcelona packed it in and coasted to victory. But Neymar, who played provider for most of the first half, wanted to get on the goal-scoring column in the second stanza. He opted for the direct route, scooping a delightful free kick over the Celtic wall and past Dorus de Vries.
With the flood gates well and truly open, Barcelona continued to run roughshod. Even Andre Iniesta couldn't help but uncork a backbreaking volley in the 59th minute, followed by Messi collecting his hat trick a minute later.
Luis Suarez popped up in the 75th minute with a ridiculous chested ball to his feet in the box for a scintillating volley, then went ahead and got his brace before all was said done.
Messi got everything going early, and the match was just about over by then. After that, the rest was just gravy. Tasty, delicious, goal-scoring gravy ... Unless you're Celtic.
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