adminBARYSAW. — Barcelona can take a big step towards the last 16 of the Champions League soccer for a 12th consecutive season when they travel to face BATE Borisov in the cold of Belarus today.
The depleted Catalans will again be without Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, but can count on an on-fire Neymar after he smashed four past Rayo Vallecano in a 5-2 win on Saturday.
Barca boss Luis Enrique described the Brazilian star as “unstoppable” as he has taken on the responsibility of leading the European champions in Messi’s absence. The player himself proudly declared his performance against Rayo as one of his best for the club as he left the Camp Nou with the match ball signed by all of his teammates at the weekend.
“Hopefully Neymar doesn’t stop and we have to sign a lot more balls for him,” said midfielder Ivan Rakitic. Messi scored twice when the sides last met in Belarus four years ago as Barca cruised to a 5-0 win. However, the impact of injuries to the Argentine, Iniesta and Rafinha, allied to a one-year ban on registering new players has left Barca with a very stretched squad for a run of six games in 19 days. — AFP.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu