Messi scored three, Suarez netted two, while Neymar had one goal and four assists – two of which set up Messi and another one for Suarez, while the latter two assisted each other as well.
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Labelling Messi as the embodiment of total football, Enrique said his versatility across the pitch makes him the best in the history of the sport.
“There can be no embarassment because they do that to better teams than ourselves”, said Rodgers.
The final result was Celtic’s worst ever defeat in European competition, but Rodgers maintains there was nothing to be embarrassed about. You can put as many players as you want there – we had a line of five – but the movement, the speed and the touch can still make it very hard for you.
And the recently-installed Celtic manager claims that the missed penalty was the turning point of a match which might otherwise have gone the way of the Scottish champions.
Neymar, Luis Suarez’s brace and Andres Iniesta’s thumping volley completed the rout as Barca sealed their biggest-ever win in Europe and inflicted the largest Champions League defeat on a former victor of the competition.
“They are world-class players and they have shown big quality this evening”.
Celtic had travelled to Barcelona on the back of a 5-1 win at home to bitter rivals, Glasgow Rangers. “We have a lot of learning to do, we will recover, and the experience will be good for us”.
Rodgers hailed Suarez as the world’s best striker before the game having spent two years with the Uruguayan at Liverpool.
Messi had started Saturday’s shock 2-1 defeat to Alaves on the bench due to the after-effects of a minor groin injury, but took just three minutes to make his presence felt with a rising drive into the top corner from Neymar’s lovely through ball.
“The likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez have goals in them so for us we needed to defend well but obviously we didn’t and we needed to work on the counter”.
“The class and excellence of Lionel Messi and his gilded supporting cast was given free rein as Barcelona ran riot and sliced open Celtic at will”, he says. “Professionally it is never nice when it happens”.
“I think in the first half we had a critical moment in the game”.
I credit the goalkeeper.
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“In every game he surprises you with new things”. “Leo just keeps proving that in football terms he’s unique”.
