Brendan Rodgers knew what his Celtic side was in for with Barcelona set to unleash Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in its starting XI for the first time this season.
“We understand the difficulty,” Rodgers said of the Scottish champions’ challenge at the Camp Nou on Tuesday. “We want to enjoy it, but we want to get a result.”
There was no joy to be had by Rodgers and his men. Even with Celtic putting 10 men behind the ball to try and minimize the damage, Barcelona took just three minutes to break through with the first of Lionel Messi’s three goals and amassed a five-goal lead by the 59th minute to cruise to a 7-0 victory on opening day of the Champions League group stage.
Injuries prevented Luis Enrique from deploying “arguably the best front three of all time” (Rodgers’ words) in his lineup. Both Messi and Suarez did not start over the weekend, but Messi, despite a groin problem, did play a half hour in Barca’s surprising 2-1 La Liga loss to Alaves.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar reminded everyone what they’re capable of. Messi got the rout going with his first goal off the first of Neymar’s four assists.
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