Sweet 16 for Messi as Barcelona thump Ferencvaros
21 October, 2020
Lionel Messi became the first player to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons as he guided 10-man Barcelona to a 5-1 victory over Hungarian side Ferencvaros within their Group G opener at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Messi netted from the penalty spot in the first half for his 116th career goal in the competition before the lively Ansu Fati added a second.
Philippe Coutinho grabbed another goal early in the next half but Barca defender Gerard Pique was dismissed for impeding Tokmac Nguen, resulting in a penalty for the visitors that was converted by Igor Kharatin.
Any thoughts of a dramatic comeback were quashed though as 17-year-old Pedri netted his first Barca goal after arriving from second-tier Las Palmas at the start of the season, and Ousmane Dembele added the fifth late on.
The Catalan side move above Juventus on goal difference near the top of the table after the Italian champions won 2-0 away at Dynamo Kyiv earlier on Tuesday. The pair meet in Turin on Oct. 28.
Barca coach Ronald Koeman left stalwart midfielder Sergio Busquets and striker Antoine Griezmann on the bench, perhaps with one eye on Saturday's 'El Clasico' against bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Ferencvaros are in the group stages for the very first time in 25 years and had their moments. Pacey striker Nguen produced a mazy run and fine finish, but his effort was correctly ruled offside, while Brazilian midfielder Isael struck the angle of post and crossbar with a fierce drive.
Messi handed his side the lead after he both won and converted a penalty, mentioning another milestone in his career.
Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs is the only other player to net in 16 Champions League seasons, though the run had not been consecutive.
Fati then beat the offside trap from Frenkie de Jong's lobbed pass and steered the ball into the net on the volley, before Coutinho profited from intricate build-up play by Messi and Fati to score.
Ferencvaros, however, created what appeared as if being a nervous final 20 minutes as Pique cannot handle the pace of Nguen and hauled the striker back the box, seeing red for his indiscretion as Kharatin easily converted the spot-kick.
But late goals from substitutes Pedri and Dembele against the tiring visitors sealed a reasonable night for Koeman.
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