A flood of goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez capped a ideal night for Barcelona’s Champions League group opener this seasons against a hapless Celtic.
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Earlier this summer, the Antrim native was forced to issue a similar statement after a 1-0 defeat to part-timers Lincoln Red Imps in the Champions League qualifiers.
However, the Scottish champions capitulated after the break and Messi added a third for his hat-trick, Luis Suarez a double with further goals from Neymar and substitute Andres Iniesta.
It was also Celtic’s heaviest ever defeat in the competition. “The speed of the pitch is fantastic, the ball moves like it is on an ice-rink, it goes so fast – and they go as fast as that”, he said. This will be a brilliant learning season for us in the Champions League.
“I know Barcelona are a great team and they’re going to press you”.
Having taken just three points from a pool containing Barca, AC Milan and Ajax in 2013, they were hoping for a good start to build on their weekend derby win over Rangers. Of course, you can say we faced the best attacking players in the world, but to let in five goals in the second half wasn’t good.
“They could not have come to a more hard place in word football, after a highly intense game at the weekend where they put so much into it and dealt with so much pressure and played so well”. He served Messi (twice) Iniesta and Suarez.
“The framework of the team is strong, it is lit up by the front three and Luis is the spearhead of that”.
Napoli meanwhile may have lost their prolific goal-scoring machine Gonzalo Higuain after the Argentine jumped ship to Serie A rivals Juventus, but his replacement, Arkadiusz Milik, earned them a 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev.
“We are human and we can have a bad day”. “Professionally it is never nice when this happens”, said Rodgers. It’s a heavy, heavy defeat but I think the first half we came out and created a chance and got a penalty.
Suarez did eventually get his goal, though, as he controlled another Neymar chipped pass before swivelling and smashing the ball into the roof of the net past a helpless de Vries.
Messi’s hat-trick was his 40th professional treble in club and global football, while his sixth European Cup treble saw him move ahead of Real Madrid greats Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
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Celtic’s attentions on the continent will turn next to their home game with City at the end of the month, where Rodgers will seek a notable upturn after a night to forget in Catalonia.
