Barcelona 4 PSV 0: Lionel Messi hits Champions League hat-trick at Camp Nou

A Lionel Messi hat-trick saw Barcelona begin their quest for a sixth Champions League title with a comfortable 4-0 win over PSV at the Nou Camp.

It took a sensational first-half free kick from Messi to open the scoring for Ernesto Valverde’s side against a well organised PSV outfit, managed by former Barcelona man Mark van Bommel.

Though the home side dominated possession, the visitors often looked a threat on the break, led by Mexican World Cup star Hirving Lozano, and showed enough to suggest they will be no pushovers in a group that also includes Tottenham and Inter Milan.

However, two goals in three second half minutes eventually killed the game off.

First, Ousmane Dembele curled a magnificent low effort past Jeroen Zoet from just outside the box, before Ivan Rakitic fed Messi to stroke home his second on the volley.

Late on, Lionel Messi latched on to a Luis Suarez through ball to complete his hat-trick.

The one sour note for Barcelona was the sending off of defender Samuel Umtiti, who received a second yellow card for a cynical block on Lozano, and will now miss the meeting with Spurs at Wembley next month.