Barcelona 6-1 AS Roma: Five Talking Points

Barcelona players celebrating after thrashing Roma in their fifth group stage matchRelentless Barcelona celebrated their round of 16 qualification in style as they hammered a hapless AS Roma 6-1 at the Camp Nou on a night that saw talisman Lionel Messi return to scoring ways after a gap of 2 months.The Argentine wizard initially had a goal wrongly disallowed but made up for it with a neat chip from close range after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring just minutes earlier. The strapping Uruguayan had effectively put the tie to bed with an absolute belter of a shot just before halftime to make it 3-0, but there was more to come after the break.An unmarked Gerard Pique tapped home a fourth early in the second half before Messi bagged his brace from a rebound. Neymar, who played more of a creator than a goal threat, then gained a chance to follow suit after he won a penalty but saw his effort saved by Wojciech Szczesny. However, Adriano made it six from the follow-up.The visitors won a penalty of their own just minutes later, but Edin Dzeko failed to beat a robust Ter Stegen. The Bosnian, though, did manage to find some consolation in the end as a he headed home for the visitors deep in the extra time.A majestic Barcelona cruised to another emphatic win after the weekend’s Clasico drubbing, and on current form, appear well placed to retain their crown. Here are the five talking points from the game.

#1 The return of Lionel Messi

Messi looked brilliant in his first start in two months

After spending nearly 2 months on the sideline through injury, Barcelona ace Lionel Messi made his return to the field in the 4-0 defeat of Real Madrid last weekend in the final half an hour. While he couldn’t meet the target in that game, he made sure he got back on the scoresheet soon after he bagged a brilliant brace against the Romans.

The diminutive maestro flew out of the traps early in the game, and after seeing his opening goal wrongly disallowed for offside, covered it up with an audacious chip over Szczesny just a few minutes later after a well-worked move. The goal sent ripples across the Camp Nou as Messi struck for the first time in eight weeks, but he had more in store for the thronging faithfuls.

In the second half, Messi beat an offside trap by Roma to latch on to Suarez’s flick, and after getting his initial shot saved, pounced on the rebound for his second on the night.

Messi has well and truly announced his return to the world stage, and that’s enough to send a chill down other team’s spine.