Barcelona had a bit of a nervy night at the Camp Nou, but came away 3-1 winners over Ajax to keep pace with Paris Saint-Germain in Group F. It was a comfortable night for the Catalans until the 88th minute when Ajax pulled within a goal, but Sandro scored late and, combined with goals by Lionel Messi and Neymar, sealed the victory.
Neymar and Messi combined on the first goal of the match just seven minutes in. Messi dribbled right across the Ajax defense, feinting shots at goal until space opened on the left for him to slide Neymar in. The Brazilian took the ball and finished with ease, putting the home side in front.
Messi then got on the scoring end, but Andres Iniesta deserves most of the credit for the goal. He played an absolutely sensational pass right through the Ajax defense and onto the foot of Messi. The Argentine didn't even finish that well, allowing Jasper Cillessen to get a hand to the shot, but it still got over the line.
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
Barcelona bossed the remainder of the match, but they didn't turn it into as many chances as they would have liked and, when they did get chances, they were wasteful. That allowed Ajax to hang around and, in the 88th minute, Anwar El Ghazi scored to make things interesting.
Unfortunately for Ajax, El Ghazi's goal didn't mean much. Sandro came off the bench and scored just before the final whistle to crush any dreams they had of a point at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Pique, Bartra, Alba, Alves, Rakitic, Iniesta (Rafinha 76'), Mascherano, Pedro, Messi (Munir 66'), Neymar (Sandro 62').
Goals: Neymar, 7', Messi 24', Sandro 90'
Ajax: Cillessen, van Rhijn, Veltman, Moisander, Viergever, Klaassen, Andersen, Zimling (Riedewald 56'), Sigthorsson (El-Ghazi 73'), Kishna (Milikk 45'), Schone.
Goals: El Ghazi 88'.
3 things
1. Lionel Messi and Neymar are incredible together - This isn't so much something we learned, but it is really stunning just how amazing they are. Their runs are so quick and smart, while they're able to dribble through everyone and pass or finish. Neymar has become the lead goalscorer this year, but Messi has never been a more dangerous playmaker. A year ago, there were questions about how the two of them would mesh, but not anymore.
2. Andres Iniesta has still got it - The 30-year-old occasionally looks like a guy who is losing a battle with Father Time. He's not as quick as he used to be and he doesn't try running past players like he used to, but then he has a game like he did against Ajax, where he looks as spry as ever and it's a reminder of just how brilliant he is. His pass on Messi's goal was otherworldly and he was a force for 76 minutes before coming off to a well-deserved applause.
3. Ajax have a long ways to go - Ajax have been torn apart in recent years as so many of their good players have been snapped up by big clubs. That's not rare at Ajax, but they normally replace the departed players better than they have this time around. Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Lasse Schone remain their best players, but they aren't especially young, and the promising Arkadiusz Milik is only on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. Maybe Anwar El Ghazi and a few other promising youngsters come around, but it will be a couple years.