Barcelona 6-1 AS Roma: Player Ratings

Roma had no answers to the brilliance of Messi and Suarez

Spanish giants, Barcelona put in an outstanding performance to secure a thumping 6-1 victory over a woeful AS Roma side at the Camp Nou. A brace from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi along with a goal each from Gerard Pique and Adriano saw the hosts secure top spot in their group with a game in hand.

Edin Dzeko was the only Roma player to get on the score sheet on a night to forget for the visitors. Roma now need to beat BATE Borisov in their remaining match in order to progress to knock-out stages of the competition.

Here is the report card of the players involved in the game.

Barcelona:

Marc-Andre ter Stegen- 7.5/10

Ter Stegen was given a chance in goal ahead of Claudio Bravo and the German did not disappoint. The 23-year-old pulled off a remarkable save early in the second half to deny Iago Falque from opening the score for the visitors.

He also kept out an Edin Dzeko penalty later on in the game. However, he was unable to keep a clean sheet as Roma managed to net one in just before the final whistle.

Dani Alves- 7.5/10

Dani Alves looked threatening on the right-hand side of the pitch linking up brilliantly with both Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic. The Brazilian international unselfishly set up Luis Suarez for the Barcelona's first goal of the match. Defensively, he had virtually little to do as Roma never really got out from their own half.

Gerard Pique- 7.5/10

The 28-year-old central defender looked solid at the heart of the defense, even though he had an easy day at the office. After Barcelona secured a comfortable lead, the Spanish centre-back did not seem shy of going forward as well. He eventually popped up in the right place to guide home a simple tap in and score the fourth goal for the hosts.

Thomas Vermaelen- 6/10

The Belgian came in the side for the injured Javier Mascherano and although he did not have much to do in the game, he linked up well Gerard Pique in the heart of the defense.

He was responsible for conceding a penalty late in the game, which was eventually saved by ter Stegen. But, he was unable to clear off the danger in the dying moments of the game that led to the visitors’ only goal of the game.

Jordi Alba- 7/10

Jordi Alba marched forward on the left flank at will to provide assistance to the bubbling Neymar. He always seemed threatening from an attacking point of view. He also kept his Italian opponents at bay defensively during their limited opportunities.

Ivan Rakitic- 7/10

The Croatian international put in a fine performance in the Barcelona's midfield and linked up particularly well with Dani Alves on the right-hand side of the pitch. He always looked ready for that decisive pass, trying to break Roma's offside trap on more than one occasion.

Sergio Busquets- 8/10

Whether it was going forward or working with his defenders, Sergio Busquets did little wrong in this one-sided affair. He delivered some pinpoint long balls for his team-mates, which established Barcelona's attacking intent early in the game. He was also not shy of helping out his defenders at the heart of the defense.

Sergi Roberto- 7/10

After a terrific El Classico over the weekend, the Spaniard again put in a fine performance for his employers. The 23-year-old looked solid in the midfield and cut out any attacking threat from the visitors with absolute ease.

Lionel Messi- 9/10

Starting his first game after an injury, Messi was back in top gear for the Spanish giants netting in a wonderful brace. He also set up Gerard Pique unselfishly for the fourth goal of the game. Messi was keen to help his team-mates out defensively as well when he crept in with a vital tackle later on the game, which ultimately sent him into the referees' book.

Luis Suarez- 9/10

The Uruguay international put in a sublime performance and looked dangerous every time he had the ball at his feet. Not only did he find the back of the net twice, he also picked out his team-mates wonderfully with some marvelous touches on several occasions.

Neymar Jr.- 9/10

The Brazilian surprisingly failed to register a goal to his name in this six-goal rout, but that did not belittle his outstanding performance over the entirety of the match. Neymar constantly threatened the Roma defense with his pace and trickery and had the Italian outfit in sixes and seven on more than one occasion.

With the game done and dusted, he was given a chance to score himself when Barcelona earned a late penalty. But, he delivered a poor penalty from an unusually short run-up that was initially saved by Szczesny but ultimately netted in by Adriano.

Substitutes:

Sergi Samper- 6.5/10

The talented Spaniard from the Barcelona academy came in at the start of the second half to replace Sergio Busquets. He had a sound game as the defensive midfielder during the time he was on the pitch.

Marc Bartra- 6/10

With a busy schedule ahead, Gerard Pique was replaced with the 24-year-old Bartra ten minutes into the second half. With Barcelona continuing to press forward, Bartra was largely uninvolved from a defensive viewpoint but looked comfortable whenever he had the ball.

Adriano- 7/10

The experienced Brazilian came on as a replacement for Sergi Roberto late in the game. After Neymar's penalty was punched away by Szczesny, Adriano pounced on the ball to net in a thunderbolt and secure Barcelona's sixth goal of the match.

Iturbe was the best player on the pitch for Roma, despite coming off the bench

AS Roma:

Wojciech Szczesny- 5/10

The Arsenal loanee could do little to stop his prolific counterparts from cutting past his defense and set up some easy goals. He was alert of the attacking threat of Barcelona throughout the game as he made some crucial saves while also keeping out Neymar's penalty in the second period of the game.

Maicon- 3/10

With all his experience, the Brazilian international was unable to keep his attacking opponents at bay and especially faced a torrid time dealing with Neymar down the right-hand side of the pitch. With little attacking intent from the visitors, we never saw any surging runs forward as well from the 34-year-old right-back.

Konstantinos Manolas- 4/10

Though the Italian side let in six goals during the game, Manolas seemed the only defender who was seeking damage limitation. If not for Greek international's quick feet and general awareness, the Italian giants would have easily let in few more goals.

However, playing a really high line defensively, Manolas could not keep the likes of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar from making fine runs into the box, which eventually split the defense open.

Antonio Rudiger- 2/10

It was a learning curve for the 22-year-old German as he failed to implement the Roma's high line offside trap and played into the hands of his opponents on more than one occasion. He was unsuccessful at deciphering the quick tiki-taka passes as well keeping out some dangerous long balls.

Lucas Digne- 3.5/10

The Paris Saint-Germain defender on loan to Roma did not have a great game and was constantly teased by Dani Alves and Lionel Messi on the left flank throughout the game. The French left-back supplied the cross, which was eventually headed in by Dzeko for Roma's only goal of the game.

Miralem Pjanic- 3/10

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has been in tremendous form this season but was unable to showcase the same during this one-sided rout. He was unable to see much of the ball and constantly needed to help out his defense as Barcelona marched forward, time and again.

Seydou Keita-2/10

The former Barcelona man was guilty of providing too much time and space on the ball for Barcelona's attacking trio. Playing a high-line, Keita did not press forward far enough in order to stop the Spanish giants from delivering precise long balls for their front men.

Radja Nainggolan - 3/10

Nainggolan can be a dangerous player to deal with in the midfield, but such was the sheer class of their opponents that he hardly seemed a threat. He was constantly found out of position trying to help out his horrendous defense in order to keep their high-flying opponents at bay. Hardly effective, the Belgian was substituted at the end of the first half.

Alessandro Florenzi- 2/10

After scoring a wonder goal against the Catalans in the reverse fixture, Florenzi could never really stamp his authority, being a mere spectator for the majority of the game. The attacking winger was forced deep into his own half on several occasions, which ultimately led to him being substituted early into the second half.

Iago Falque- 4/10

A graduate of the Barcelona B team, Falque tried to unlock the Barcelona defense with some decent runs, but eventually lost the ball in the attacking third far too easily. The Spaniard powered in a terrific shot on goal, which was acrobatically saved by ter Stegen.

He seemed like the only one who looked capable of providing some service to the isolated Edin Dzeko.

Edin Dzeko- 5/10

Dzeko missed a great chance early in the game when he failed to head in a simple header into the Barcelona net to give Roma a surprising lead. His body language looked miserable owing to the lack of service provided to him.

The Bosnian got a golden opportunity late in the second half when he earned a penalty for his side, which he ultimately missed. He eventually found the back of the net in the final seconds of the match netting in a fine header to give the visitors some consolation.

Substitutes:

Juan Manuel Iturbe- 5.5/10

The Argentine was introduced in the second half and gave the visitors a breath of fresh air from the attacking point of view. His pace seemed to trouble the Barcelona defense on a couple of occasions. The 22-year-old also picked his team-mates brilliantly with some fine passes and was easily the best player on the pitch for the visitors.

William Vainqueur- 3/10

The 27-year-old was brought in as a defensive substitution as Rudi Garcia realised the need to patch up his leaky defense. However, Barcelona netted in just two minutes after William came on. The French midfielder never really looked comfortable against the Catalans during the time he was on the pitch.

Salih Ucan- 2/10

Brought late into the second half, the Turkish midfielder was responsible for conceding the penalty that eventually led to Barcelona's sixth goal of the game.