Lionel Messi fires treble as Barcelona crush Celtic

Lionel Messi helped himself to a hat-trick as Barcelona completed a crushing 7-0 demolition of Celtic in their Champions League Group C opener.

Luis Suarez also scored twice with Neymar and substitute Andres Iniesta netting as Celtic were subjected to their heaviest defeat in European competition, a result that eclipsed their 6-1 loss at the same venue three years ago.

It was also Barcelona's heaviest winning margin since the inception of the Champions League in 1992.

The Scottish champions had the chance to respond to Messi's third-minute opener when Moussa Dembele was clipped by Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the box on 25 minutes, but he drove the ball tamely to his left as the Barca keeper dived to his right to make a comfortable stop.

Messi added a second on 27 minutes before the roof caved in on Celtic in the second half as the visiting side's defence fell to pieces with some utterly shambolic defending.

While Barcelona were at their brilliant best, it should also be noted that Celtic contributed to their own downfall with a lamentable performance at the back that was not helped by a failure to keep the ball whenever they tried to move forward.

Celtic's woeful record away from home in Europe continues to show no signs of ending, and their next match is a daunting contest against Manchester City in a fortnight at Celtic Park. If they are to avoid a similar outcome, they simply must find a better blend of willing defenders.

Brendan Rodgers needs to learn how to defend in Europe. It contributed to his downfall at Liverpool, and this result shows where he must get it right at Celtic. It is too early to be critical of Rodgers who has only been Celtic manager since July and has performed minor miracles to lead this team - largely the same mediocre outfit from last season - to the Champions League group stage, but there is certainly huge room for improvement needed at the back for the Glasgow side. While Barcelona were impressive, they were helped by a hopeless performance from the visiting side in trying to close space.

Celtic looked tired and while nobody was expecting them to win this match, neither should they be losing 7-0 with some of the home side's goals all coming from Celtic's poverty-stricken play in failing to keep the ball or defend properly. It must be said Celtic were as bad as Barca were good.

Lionel Messi (Barcelona): So many candidates as Barcelona simply blew Celtic away, but Messi gets the nod for his three goals closely followed by Neymar who came up with four assists as well as a free-kick goal that should have been stopped by the visiting goalkeeper Dorus de Vries.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen 8, Piqué 8, Rakitic 7, Sergio 8, Suárez 9, Messi 9, Neymar 9, Jordi Alba 8, Sergio Roberto 8, A. Gomes 7, Umtiti 7..subs A.Iniesta 8, Rafinha 8,

Celtic: De Vries 4, Gamboa 4, Lustig 4, Toure 4, Sviatchenko 3, Tierney 4, Roberts 3, Brown 4, Bitton 4, Sinclair 4, Dembele 4..subs: Armstrong 5, O'Connell 6, McGregor 6

3' - GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Celtic. Messi fires the ball beyond De Vries from the Neymar pass, and the home side lead 1-0. What a start for Barca. Clnical finish.

25' - TER STEGEN STOPS PENALTY! Short run-up by Dembele after he had been felled by the home goalkeeper. He goes to his left, but the German keeper guessed right, and it was fairly tame effort from the French forward.

27' - GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Celtic. Messi slots home a second goal from the Neymar pass, and that is 2-0 to the home side. Celtic defence again sliced open almost at will. All too easy for Barca. A two-goal lead.

50' - GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Celtic. Neymar lifts the free-kick high into the net. De Vries guessed right, but he couldn't get across in time. It is 3-0 to Barca. And it is a howler from De Vries, who really should have saved that.

59' - GOAL! Barcelona 4-0 Celtic. Iniesta crashes home the fourth goal of the night from the Neymar cross. Celtic just leaving too much space at the back. Brilliant hit and a 4-0 lead now.

60' - GOAL! Barcelona 5-0 Celtic. Celtic cut open at the back at Suarez breaks the offside trap before setting up Messi to add the fifth. Poor defending really from the visitors, and it is 5-0.

75' - GOAL! Barcelona 6-0 Celtic. Neymar with a ball over the top and Suarez lashes a volley high into the net. It is 6-0. Barca just rubbing it in here. Not sure if Suarez was onside either.

88' - GOAL! Barcelona 7-0 Celtic. Suarez slides home another goal for Barcelona from the Messi pass, and it is 7-0. Celtic out on their feets at this moment.

Barcelona book their biggest ever victory in the Champions League. They only had bigger victories in all European competitions twice, 8-0 v Apollon Limassol in 1982 (Cup Winners Cup) and 8-0 v Matador Puchov in 2003 (UEFA Cup).

Celtic suffer their biggest ever defeat in all European competitions.

Barcelona equal their record of most scored goals in a single CL match (7-1 v Leverkusen in 2012) and will set a new record for biggest victory in the competition.

Celtic concede seven goals in the CL for the first time and will suffer their biggest ever defeat in all European competition.

Luis Suarez becomes the first player to score in six consecutive CL home matches for Barcelona.