Messi and Valdés punish Ajax

Barca made an important first step in this season’s Champions League against Ajax of Amsterdam last night at the Nou Camp by winning a decisive 4 goals to nil.

Great performances by Leo Messi and goalkeeper Victor Valdés made sure of Barcelona’s victory against the Dutch outfit. Messi netted three goals with the fourth being provided by Gerard Piqué.

While it wasn’t the best of FC Barcelona’s performances, both Messi and Valdés were on fire and wrapped up the game between them. Messi responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance against Turkish outfit Galatasaray and Real Madrid’s 1-6 win away, while Valdés stopped everything in his path including a penalty kick.

Messi’s first goal came via a free kick after 22 minutes to break the deadlock and put Barca in the mood. As we said, it wasn’t the best of Barca’s performances but the team grew in strength as the goals kept hitting the back of the Ajax net.

The fans haven’t really seen the Barcelona of Tata Martino. We have seen some flashes of brilliance, but it’s still not very clear what the Argentine coach has up his sleeve for the club. No one can say that the Catalan giant suffered against the Dutch as Barca won by a landslide victory. However,the team wasn’t comfortable on the pitch. For a team that has us accustomed to seeing their games as monologues, it is quite rare.

Martino benched Xavi to exploit the good form of Cesc Fabregas, but last night the former Arsenal FC star wasn’t too hot. Barca suffered trying to move the ball around, especially in the first half. The one with the most spark turned out to be Neymar, who turned Van Rihjn inside out.

It was a good start by Barca in the Champions League nonetheless and there’s still time to polish a few things for when the tournament really gets underway.