Barcelona 3-1 Celtic: Fine start to preseason as Messi and Suarez lead the line

Fans in Dublin turned up excited to see Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez cause havoc, but after 12 seconds it was Patrick Roberts who was doing the dazzling.

He fired inches wide of the far post and nearly stunned Barcelona, but after that normal service was resumed. And resumed remarkably quickly.

It didn’t take long for Suarez to be charging around like he was playing in the World Cup final, even going as far as to make a tackle on Leigh Griffiths in his own penalty area.

Messi, meanwhile, was digging through his playbook to craft several delightful through-balls and cross-field passes, entertaining supporters and creating chances. The first goal, however, came when he was ignored.

Denis could have passed to Barcelona’s blonde bombshell, but instead pinged a ball down the right for Aleix Vidal. He nutmegged his marker and dragged the ball back to Arda Turan, around 20 yards out from goal.

The Turk had decided what he was going to do long ago, curling a first-time effort into the top right corner.

It was a fine goal and a statement of sorts by a player who has been linked with the exit all summer, while the man who set him up also has plenty to prove at Camp Nou.

At the other end Celtic levelled when Jose Antonio Martinez took a heavy touch right in front of his own goal, with Masip away from his net, having passed to the defender in the first place. Griffiths couldn’t believe his luck and pounced to score the easiest goal of his career.

However, less than two minutes later Barcelona were back ahead. Camara broke down the left and sent a cross in, looking for Luis Suarez. It wasn’t a good ball but Efe Ambrose diverted it past his own goalkeeper with a needless intervention.

The best goal of the game came just before half-time, when Messi swerved a fine ball out left, with Camara feeding Suarez, who cut the ball back for Munir to ram home from close range. In that move it didn’t look like Barcelona were the team who were playing their first preseason friendly.

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, who have played several games, couldn’t keep up with the Catalan side’s speed.

If the first half was an end-to-end, enjoyable affair and almost worthy of the hefty ticket prices, some around 60 euros, the second half was utter tosh. Tosh of the kind that is usually served up in these type of friendlies. Both sides made several changes in the second half, giving the game no flow and no clear direction.

But as first run-outs go, Luis Enrique will be pleased. Suarez (Luis) ran around like a maniac, Suarez (Denis) showed that bringing him back to Camp Nou was an obvious and correct choice, youngster Carles Alena came on and dazzled, albeit briefly.

Barcelona next face Premier League champions Leicester and will be looking to continue the quick, tidy passing and entertaining vibe they found in the first half.