Suarez, another of Luis Enrique’s key men, took over the late show with a sensational brace to his name – one through a volley and another with a stretched-out side-foot tap.
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Messi netted a record sixth hat-trick in the competition.
The 7-0 victory surpassed Barcelona‘s biggest win in the Champions League to date, a 7-1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.
The Catalan giants inflicted a heaviest ever defeat in European competition on their Glaswegian opponents in their Champions League group opener at the Camp Nou, with Luis Suarez showing no mercy on his ex-boss by plundering the last two goals.
“They are the three players in the world who are the best in their position and one of them is unique”, he said. It wouldn’t be clever to curtail that, to put limits on him. That’s why he is the best of all time. We have had a brilliant start to the season and this won’t hamper us in any way, you will always take the positives from it. Celtic had so much notes to jot down that night as they were schooled by Barcelona’s flawless European football. “You need to conserve the ball. clearly the top-class team won, but I couldn’t have asked any more of my team”.
It was the first joint-start this season for Messi and Neymar, after Neymar missed Barcelona’s first four matches helping his country win the Olympic gold medal.
Luis Enrique reverted to an nearly full-strength team after his rotation policy backfired in Saturday’s shock 2-1 La Liga defeat at home to Alaves.
Neymar played a one-two with Messi before cutting the ball back for the Argentine to score.
Neymar’s 50th-minute free-kick made it three, Celtic goalkeeper Dorus de Vries getting a touch but not a big enough touch.
It got even better from there. Messi virtually hoodwinked each of the Hoops’ attempts to disrupt his play, deeming their European sojourn a worrisome cause as only a saved Moussa Dembele penalty emerged as their real threat. “It moves so fast and so do they”. “(Barcelona) is the world’s best at keeping the ball”.
Dembele was Celtic’s hat-trick hero in a 5-1 thrashing of Glasgow rivals Rangers on Saturday, but he failed to add to his burgeoning reputation as ter Stegen flew to his right to turn the Frenchman’s penalty behind.
Iniesta came on at the break and scored the fourth, thumping Neymar’s cross on the volley past De Vries.
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As Neymar teed Messi up to smash home the opening goal after three minutes and laid on the pass for the Argentine’s second strike later in the first half, however, there was no sign the feted trio had lost any of their nearly telepathic understanding.
