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Played
September 29, 2011 12:15 AM IST
Stadyen Dynama — Minsk
Referee: M. Gräfe
Attendance: 29555
September 29, 2011 12:15 AM IST
Stadyen Dynama — Minsk
Referee: M. Gräfe
Attendance: 29555
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona: Messi On The Double As Catalans Batter Belarusians
The European champions cruised to a comprehensive victory away from home, but the locals played their part with some awful defending as well, including a first-half own goal
By Ben Hayward, Goal.com
Getty Images
Barcelona cruised to an impressive 5-0 win over BATE Borisov in Belarus on Wednesday night, although the Catalans were given more then a helping hand by their hosts in this Champions League Group H encounter.
Barca dominated from the outset and went ahead through Aleksandr Volodko's own goal, before Pedro headed a second, Lionel Messi struck a brace either side of the break to make it a comfortable night in eastern Europe for Pep Guardiola's men and David Villa added a late fifth.
Barcelona had never played in Belarus, but the Catalans immediately looked at home as they controlled the game from the first whistle, controlling possession and pressing their rivals back into their own half.
And after Messi had come close with a free-kick, Volodko turned Dani Alves' cross into his own net under pressure from the Argentine.
That was after 19 minutes and Pedro soon made it 2-0 as he took advantage of some atrocious marking to climb above three defenders and head past goalkeeper Aliaksandr Gutor from David Villa's excellent cross.
Messi then took advantage of some awful goalkeeping by Gutor, who dropped the ball literally at the Argentine's feet seven minutes before the break and presented the 24-year-old with the simplest of finishes.
Four minutes after the break, Messi fired into the side netting, but the brilliant Barca forward was not to be denied for too long as he lashed an unstoppable drive past Gutor from just inside the area after 55 minutes.
That goal brought him level with Hungarian great Laszlo Kubala on 194 goals for the Catalan club, an incredible achievement at the age of 24.
But Messi is much more than a goalscorer and the Argentine set up Eric Abidal for what looked a certain fifth five minutes later, only for the French full-back to be denied by Gutor at the far post.
Barca lost some of their intensity in the latter stages, as could be expected due to the scoreline, but Villa rounded off a fantastic night with the fifth a minute from time.
Barca dominated from the outset and went ahead through Aleksandr Volodko's own goal, before Pedro headed a second, Lionel Messi struck a brace either side of the break to make it a comfortable night in eastern Europe for Pep Guardiola's men and David Villa added a late fifth.
Barcelona had never played in Belarus, but the Catalans immediately looked at home as they controlled the game from the first whistle, controlling possession and pressing their rivals back into their own half.
And after Messi had come close with a free-kick, Volodko turned Dani Alves' cross into his own net under pressure from the Argentine.
That was after 19 minutes and Pedro soon made it 2-0 as he took advantage of some atrocious marking to climb above three defenders and head past goalkeeper Aliaksandr Gutor from David Villa's excellent cross.
Messi then took advantage of some awful goalkeeping by Gutor, who dropped the ball literally at the Argentine's feet seven minutes before the break and presented the 24-year-old with the simplest of finishes.
Four minutes after the break, Messi fired into the side netting, but the brilliant Barca forward was not to be denied for too long as he lashed an unstoppable drive past Gutor from just inside the area after 55 minutes.
That goal brought him level with Hungarian great Laszlo Kubala on 194 goals for the Catalan club, an incredible achievement at the age of 24.
But Messi is much more than a goalscorer and the Argentine set up Eric Abidal for what looked a certain fifth five minutes later, only for the French full-back to be denied by Gutor at the far post.
Barca lost some of their intensity in the latter stages, as could be expected due to the scoreline, but Villa rounded off a fantastic night with the fifth a minute from time.
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
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Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lionel Messi
Striker Barcelona |
14 | 4 |
|
Mario Gomez
Striker FC Bayern München |
13 | 0 |
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
10 | 2 |
|
Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
7 | 0 |
|
Didier Drogba
Striker Chelsea |
6 | 0 |