Lionel Messi marked his return to the Barcelona starting line-up with a hat-trick as a 4-0 win over 10-man Manchester City preserved a perfect start to this season’s Champions League campaign for Luis Enrique’s men.
Messi came off the bench following a groin injury to score in the 4-0 weekend win over Deportivo La Coruna and he netted a 17th-minute opener at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
City boss Pep Guardiola was back at the ground with which he will for ever be inextricably linked and his team posed plenty of questions either side of Barcelona going in front, until a mindless red card for Claudio Bravo resulted in the game racing away from them.
In the 53rd minute, the former Barcelona goalkeeper handled Luis Suarez’s shot having failed to clear danger outside his area.
It was the fourth time in five Champions League defeats to Barcelona that City found themselves operating with reduced numbers and a little over a quarter of an hour later, Messi made the matchball his own.
Lionel Messi’s hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-0 demolition of Manchester City on Wednesday establishes him as the scorer of the most goals at home in the Champions League.
Messi’s tally of 16 goals in total against English teams establishes them as his favourite opponents, while only Real Madrid have scored more Champions League hat-tricks (nine) than the seven under his belt.
Post a Comment