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Once again, Neymar and Messi proved to be a potent combination. Emilio Morenatti
Round-Up

Neymar, Messi strike to ease Barca past Ajax while PSG strike late in Nicosia

Also, Porto and Schalke picked up wins.

BARCELONA WARMED UP for their clash with Real Madrid on Saturday in fine fashion as goals from Neymar, Lionel Messi and Sandro Ramirez handed them a 3-1 Champions League win over Ajax on Tuesday.

Neymar grabbed the opener in the Group F clash at the Camp Nou after just seven minutes when he collected Messi’s pass to curl the ball into the far corner before Messi put Barca firmly in command when he slotted home 14 minutes later.

Barca coach Luis Enrique then withdrew Neymar, Messi and Andres Iniesta in the second half to keep them fresh for the weekend.

Ajax briefly threatened a comeback when Anwar El Ghazi halved the deficit two minutes from time, but Sandro drove home a third in stoppage time to secure a deserved victory for the Catalans.

Edinson Cavani’s late winner for Paris Saint-Germain away to APOEL Nicosia means Barca remain a point behind the French champions at the top of Group F, but extend their advantage over third-placed Ajax to four points.

Cavani claimed his second goal in PSG’s Champions League Group F campaign and his sixth of the season when he latched onto a loose ball in the box and, despite falling to the ground, was able to hook it home with his right boot for a victory that rarely looked on the cards.

“It’s always good for a striker to score goals and the important thing was to get the victory which is another step forward towards qualification,” said Cavani, who was sent off last Friday for two controversial yellow cards after celebrating a goal in the 3-1 league win over Lens.

APOEL will consider themselves unlucky not to have claimed at least a draw and should have taken the lead on several occasions in a match that slipped from their grasp and puts their qualification chances in jeopardy.

PSG remain top of the section with seven points, a point clear of Barcelona, who beat Ajax 3-1 at the Camp Nou on Tuesday, while APOEL prop up the group with just one point.

Elsewhere, a late goal from Ricardo Quaresma gave Porto a 2-1 win at home against Athletic Bilbao while Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke needed an injury-time penalty from Maxim Choupo-Moting to seal a 4-3 win in Gelsenkirchen.

 

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