Messi ruins Pep’s return

Paris, October 20

Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola's homecoming by scoring a hattrick in Barcelona's 4-0 win over 10-man Manchester City in the Champions League, while Bayern Munich shook off their recent patchy form to defeat PSV Eindhoven 4-1. Messi pounced on a Fernandinho slip to nudge Barca in front on 17 minutes, and the Argentine doubled his tally on the hour following the dismissal of City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

The Chile international, who left the Camp Nou in August to replace Joe Hart at City, was sent off for a blatant handball outside the area having knocked his misplaced clearance straight to Luis Suarez.

Messi swept in a third on 69 minutes to complete a second straight hattrick in Europe, while Barca also finished the game a man down after substitute Jeremy Mathieu picked up a second booking. Neymar missed a late penalty but atoned with Barca's fourth soon after as the Spaniards made it three wins from three to take control of Group C, while goals from Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn handed Borussia Moenchengladbach their first points of the competition with a 2-0 win at Celtic.

In Munich, Carlo Ancelotti's Bayern dismissed concerns about their performance of late by ending a three-match winless run at home to PSV Eindhoven. — AFP