Barca toyed with Panathinaikos in a 5-1 win. Leo Messi scored a brace and had an assist. Check out the brilliance of Barca’s third goal – just sublime preternatural passing through a maze of defenders with a perfect Messi finish. And then his wonderful little chip with that amazing left foot (there must be a whole cerebral cortex devoted to it) hoisted onto Dani Alves’s head for Barca’s final goal.
Barca endured a small setback once Sidney Govou shrugged off Eric Abidal in a footrace to put the Greek club ahead for the first goal. But then it was all Barca after that with Messi missing out on a hat trick when his weakly struck penalty was saved by goalie Alexandros Tzorvas. As is his wont, Xavi kept the midfield purring.