Ajax vs. Barcelona: Score, Grades and Reaction from Champions League Game
Lionel Messi created Champions League history on Wednesday night, equalling Raul's 71 goals to become the joint top scorer in European Cup football by scoring both strikes that saw Barcelona defeat Ajax 2-0 at the Amsterdam Arena.
The little magician scored in both halves—in the 36th and 76th minutes—to seal the points for the Camp Nou team and see Barca safely into the knockout phase.
But it was yet another disappointing performance from record signing Luis Suarez, who once again failed to make an impact for his new team.
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His poor showing was highlighted by Opta stats:
Despite the final score, it was Ajax who dominated the early proceedings. The hosts went close in the 19th minute with Lucas Andersen nearly scoring for the Dutch side.
The game developed into an end-to-end affair with Barca starting to pressure their opponents before Messi broke the deadlock, assisted by the impressive Marc Bartra.
A flood of yellow cards occurred during the game—six were issued by the referee—ending with Ajax's Joel Veltman being sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence after fouling Messi.
And it was the legendary South American who wrapped the game up for the Catalan team 15 minutes from time.
Messi slid home a delicious cross from substitute Pedro to claim his part of goalscoring history.
Many believed it would be Cristiano Ronaldo who would grab Raul's record this week, but once again Messi has stolen the headlines. His performance was so good, WhoScored.com scored the Argentine as a perfect 10 in its ratings.
Grades
Lionel Messi: A+
If pundits felt that Messi had lost his mojo last season, the Barca legend is once again showing why he is the best of his generation. Messi's two goals were taken with the skill of a world-class striker—showing how versatile he is in the opposition penalty box.
Sergio Busquets: B+
Once again, the 26-year-old displayed why he is one of the best midfielders in the game, holding things together for the Catalan giants. He achieved a fantastic 95.2 per cent pass completion on the night, per WhoScored.com, proving he is still one of Europe's finest players.
Lucas Andersen: C+
So nearly a hero on the night for Ajax, Lucas Andersen showed why so many rate him highly. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder nearly scored on two occasions before coming off in the second half. He is surely a star of the future.
Player Ratings
| Jasper Cillessen | 6.10 |
| Ricardo van Rhijn | 7.08 |
| Niklas Moisander | 6.08 |
| Joel Veltman | 7.33 |
| Nicolai Boilesen | 7.25 |
| Thulani Serero | 6.41 |
| Lucas Andersen | 6.55 |
| Davy Klaassen | 6.42 |
| Anwar El Ghazi | 6.29 |
| Kolbeinn Sigthorsson | 6.05 |
| Lasse Schone | 6.38 |
| Arkadiusz Milik | 6.28 |
| Jairo Riedewald | 6.02 |
| Stefano Denswil | 6.53 |
| Marc-Andre ter Stegen | 6.88 |
| Dani Alves | 6.78 |
| Javier Mascherano | 6.74 |
| Marc Bartra | 7.40 |
| Jordi Alba | 8.13 |
| Xavi | 7.60 |
| Ivan Rakitic | 7.06 |
| Sergio Busquets | 7.98 |
| Luis Suarez | 6.70 |
| Lionel Messi | 10.00 |
| Neymar | 6.95 |
| Pedro | 6.78 |
| Rafinha | 6.05 |
Reactions
After the match, Xavi and Luis Enrique both spoke to the press about their victory in the Netherlands.
Legendary Spanish playmaker Xavi spoke about how difficult the team found it against a tough Ajax side and how he was pleased with his own performance.
Enrique also proclaimed that his side had a difficult night in Amsterdam and can do better, but he also took the time to compliment Messi on his achievement.
"Xavi: "I'm happy that I can continue to feel useful for the team. It was difficult, we suffered, but in general we played a very good game."
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) November 5, 2014"
"Xavi: "In the second half we found our game, we had longer spells of possession and we had a great time out there." #fcblive #ucl
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) November 5, 2014"
"Luis Enrique: "It's clear we can improve things, but we played a serious and complete game. The attitude of the players was again great."
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) November 5, 2014"
"Luis Enrique: "Messi is the best player I've seen in my life." #fcblive #ucl
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) November 5, 2014"
Barcelona now join Paris Saint-Germain in the next phase of the Champions League, with both teams comfortably qualifying for their next challenge.
Ajax were tipped to cause the big two favourites of the group some trouble during this phase but a real threat failed to materialise.
