Goals from Neymar and Luis Suarez were everything FC Barcelona needed to secure an easy win in front of an almost sold-out crowd in Camp Nou Stadium. With the win, the Spaniards moved to 10 points in the Group Stage and they clinched a berth into the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

The Spanish giants were coming off a relatively easy win over BATE Borisov in Belarus two weeks ago and with both rivals set to meet again – this time in Barca’s home soil – the Spaniards side had no problem to leave the three points at home thank s to a convincing display on both sides of the ball.

Neymar takes over in absence of Lionel Messi

With the Argentinean superstar Lionel Messi still sidelined with an injury there’s no question that Barcelona is significantly weakened on the attack. Neymar, however, has taken over the responsibility as the team’s superstar and the top scorer.

Barcelona dominated the first half with total ease although as it has been their trademark since Messi has been on the sidelines, the team didn’t have a lot of pace in the final third. The game was a monologue as BATE didn’t have enough quality or poise to move the lines forward and as a result, it was a matter of time before Barcelona struck the first goal.

Shortly after Ivan Rakitic was replaced by Munir due to an injury, Filip Mladenovic committed a foul inside the box. Neymar stepped up confidently and the Brazilian star sent the keeper the other way to find the back of the net, giving the hosts a well-deserved lead midway into the first half.

Barcelona cruised until Neymar and Suarez combined again for the second goal

The hosts continued to dominate the game on both sides of the ball. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen barely had to work on the defensive end and Barcelona was able to move forward without hesitation. Neymar and Suarez were pretty agile both on and off the ball, Munir was active on the flanks and Andres Iniesta pulled the strings form the middle of the pitch. Adriano came close to score with an effort that hit the post but nothing happened and in the end, Barcelona had a one-goal lead heading into the break.

Things didn’t change much in the second half and at one time, Barcelona had more than 70% of possession, something that is a fair reflection of what was happening on the pitch. Luis Suarez started to look more and more dangerous on the final meters and the Uruguayan poacher delivered in the 60th minute, placing the ball past the keeper following an assist from Neymar from the left side of the pitch.

Barcelona outplayed BATE the rest of the game and it wasn’t even close

The rest of the game almost looked like an open training for Barcelona as they were in complete cruise control of the game, while BATE looked defeated and out of ideas. Even though Alyaksandr Yermakovich sent Aleksandr Hleb and Nemanja Nikolic looking to produce a spark in the middle of the pitch, the hosts continued to generate plenty of scoring chances.

Neymar was close to scoring but his effort was parried away in the 67th minute and shortly after that, Suarez had a golden chance to find the back of the net from close range but his shot hit the post when Sergey Chernik was already beaten.

Not much happened in the rest of the game. Since BATE resigned to move their lines forward, Barcelona simply moved the ball around until they added another goal on a quick counter attack. A through ball from Sergi Roberto found Suarez on the right side and he sliced a through ball into the middle of the box where Neymar tapped it home despite the pressure from the keeper and a defender.

Barcelona opted to move the ball around after their third strike and they continued like that until the final whistle, closing things out on their way to a relatively easy 3-0 win.

Up next

Both teams will play their next games at home on November 24th. BATE will host Bayer Leverkusen while FC Barcelona will take on AS Roma.