Barcelona bounces back with 5-1 win in Champions League
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FC Barcelona bounced back to form this Tuesday with a 5-1 hammering of Panathinaikos in their Champions League debut.
Pep Guardiola's side showed that it is back to its best form with an imperious performance against a rival that appeared to accept its destiny after falling behind.
Following the surprise of Saturday's 2-0 shock home defeat to Hercules in the BBVA Primera Liga, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola put his strongest starting 11 onto the pitch.
Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves, Carlos Puyol and Perdo Rodriguez were all in the side as the Catalans looked to forget their weekend disappointment.
Panthinaikos meanwhile relied on the experience of Gilberto Silva in midfield and the pace of Djibril Cisse in attack.
The memories of Saturday's defeat came back to haunt Barcelona as early as Sidney Govou took a flick from Cisse to break clear and fire past Victor Valdes.
Fortunately Leo Messi was on hand to level the scores almost immediately, lifting the ball over Tzorvas following a pass from Xavi.
Villa put the home side ahead after 33 minutes, scoring from close range after Busquets flicked on a corner and Messi netted his second of the night just before halftime.
His first goal had calmed nerves and the last 25 minutes saw Barca back to its traditional passing game.
The second half saw Barcelona control the play from start to finish, but the Catalans didn't add a third until 12 minutes from time. This time Messi turned provider with a pass that Pedro merely had to tap home.
Dani Alves rounded off the scoring with a last minute header. Once again Messi put the goal on a plate for his companion.
This Sunday sees Barcelona travel to play Atletico Madrid, but rivals of a crisis at the Camp Nou are very much exaggerated.
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