Magic Messi too classy for Strachan wannabes

Messi's two goals and a sublime Thierry Henry strike saw off Gordon Strachan's side, who were twice ahead through Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Barry Robson.

The visitors dominated early on as Ronaldinho, Messi and Henry found space and it took a good save from Artur Boruc to keep out Andres Iniesta.

But it was Strachan's side who took the lead against the run of play on 15 minutes.

Aiden McGeady and Scott McDonald combined well down the left and shifted the ball to Lee Naylor, whose superb whipped cross was bravely headed past Victor Valdes by Vennegoor of Hesselink from six yards.

The lead only lasted two minutes. Messi exchanged passes with Deco on the edge of the box before bursting forward and lifting the ball over Boruc to claim his first goal of 2008.

A second Barca goal seemed inevitable but Celtic shocked the visitors once more, debutant Robson sending a looping header over Valdes after a mesmerising run and cross from the impressive McGeady.

Barca's domination had to tell at some point, however, and seven minutes after the break Henry curled in a magnificent shot past Boruc.

From that point, it was a question of when, not if, the visitors would score again. Messi eventually sealed victory, superbly controlling a cross into the box and rolling the ball past Boruc.

Debut goalscorer Robson admitted Celtic had lost to a better team. He said: 'It's an excellent Barcelona side. I think they were outstanding, loads of great players and they're hard to play against.

'I don't think any of us were good enough tonight. I thought we could have done a bit better at home.

'It's quite hard to get the ball off them. We need to be braver. It's a bit of a learning curve for us.'

And Strachan echoed his midfielder's analysis of the game. He said: 'We're playing against one of the best teams in the world. When we had the ball, we were not keeping it long enough.

'The game has been played for 150- odd years now, it doesn't change. The team that passes the ball well usually wins the game of football.'

And the Scot was realistic about his side's chances of success in the return leg: 'I wouldn't put my house on it.

'I've worked too hard over 35 years to get a house. I wouldn't bet that! We've showed we can score goals, so you never know.'

CELTIC: Boruc 7, Caddis 6 (Wilson 61, 6), Caldwell 6, McManus 7, Naylor 7, Nakamura 6, Hartley 5 (Donati 65, 6), Robson 6, McGeady 8, Vennegoor of Hesselink 7 (Samaras 55, 6), McDonald 8. Booked: Robson, Hartley.

BARCELONA: Valdes 6, Puyol 7, Milito 6, Marquez 6, Abidal 8, Iniesta 7, Toure Yaya 7, Deco 7 (Xavi 65, 6), Messi 8, Henry 6 (Gudjohnsen 88), Ronaldinho (Eto'o 73) 7. Booked: Deco, Messi.

Man of the match: Lionel Messi.

Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden).