Barcelona vs PSV Eindhoven. UEFA Champions League Group B.
Camp NouAttendance73,462.
Ousmane Dembele also on target at Nou Camp but Samuel Umtiti sees red
Wednesday 19 September 2018 07:55, UK
Lionel Messi netted a hat-trick as Barcelona eased to a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in their opening Champions League group game.
The Barca captain opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a wonderful free-kick - his eighth scored in 2018 - before Ousmane Dembele (75) struck in a similar curling fashion in the second half.
Messi then tapped home from close range two minutes later, although Samuel Umtiti was sent off after receiving a second yellow card not long after following a forceful challenge on Hirving Lozano.
The Argentine completed his treble with a sweeping effort in the 88th minute to seal an impressive first victory of the campaign in Group B.
It took around 10 minutes for the game to find its feet as Philippe Coutinho picked out Luis Suarez on the right before receiving the ball back from the Uruguayan, but he put the resulting header just over the crossbar. Not long after, PSV had their best chance of the half but Steven Bergwijn's curling effort just went past the upright.
Barcelona kept probing and could have opened the scoring in the 21st minute. A wonderful ball from Messi picked out Suarez towards the left of the area, but his shot from a tight angle could only hammer into the side of the net.
The spellbinding Messi did break the deadlock just after the half-hour mark. Dembele was fouled just outside the 'D' by Nick Viergever to win a free-kick, which Messi brilliantly curled over the wall with his left foot and into the top corner.
Barcelona continued to see the better chances despite a slightly-improved attacking display from PSV in the second half. Coutinho tested Jeroen Zoet in the 58th minute, but after rounding Denzel Dumfries, his effort was pushed away by the leaping goalkeeper. Coutinho then set up Suarez 10 minutes later but the latter's chipped effort could only dink onto the crossbar.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 75th minute with another sublime goal, this time from Dembele. After receiving the ball, he dragged it back on the turn to get away from his markers before striding towards the top of the area and hitting a wonderful, curling effort into the bottom corner.
Messi added his second two minutes later as Ivan Rakitic chipped the ball over the top of the PSV defence to pick out the run of the Barcelona captain. He hit home with his first touch at close range, leaving Zoet with no chance to keep it out.
Another 120 seconds and Barcelona went down to 10 men after a poor foul from Umtiti. As Lozano raced down the field, the Frenchman body-checked his opponent with real force and was shown a second yellow card. He will miss the trip to Wembley to face Tottenham on Wednesday October 3.
Messi rounded off his hat-trick in the 88th minute and made more history in the process. Suarez dinked the ball into his path down the right of the area, before he slotted home on an angle to nab his eighth Champions League treble - a record in the competition.
He just gets better. It was a tremendous performance from Messi and he claimed his record-breaking hat-trick with some wonderful finishes. His opening free-kick was a thing of real beauty.
He also became the second player in Champions League history to score in 14 consecutive seasons, after Raul Gonzalez, and there is no sign of him stopping in the coming years.
Barcelona welcome local rivals Girona on Sunday in La Liga, and will next be in Champions League action on Wednesday October 3 when they play away at Tottenham. PSV face another tough test in the Eredivisie on Sunday when they play second-placed Ajax, while they will be playing Inter in their next Champions League game on October 3.
