Barcelona began their quest for a sixth Champions League title with an emphatic 7-0 win over Celtic at Camp Nou.

A hat-trick from Lionel Messi, plus goals from Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez s double, gave Luis Enrique s side all three points to banish memories of Saturday s shock LaLiga defeat to Alaves.

Messi rifled in an early opener and he combined superbly with Neymar to double Barca s lead after Moussa Dembele had seen a penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Neymar bent a free-kick over the wall and beyond Dorus de Vries from 20 yards just after half-time, and the Brazil star set up Iniesta for a sumptuous fourth before the hour mark before Messi completed his treble just a minute later.

Brendan Rodgers side could scarcely get out of …

Carlos Bacca revealed he is not enjoying life at AC Milan during a recent visit to Sevilla, but coach Jorge Sampaoli claims the LaLiga club are unable to sign him.

Bacca incurred the displeasure of the Milan fans after he was photographed attending Sevilla s 2-1 win over Valencia instead of the Serie A club s match at Empoli, despite coach Vincenzo Montella sanctioning the injured striker s trip.

The Colombia international has been strongly linked with a return to Sevilla, for whom he played between 2013 and 2015, as his relationship with Montella is reportedly strained.

And while Sampaoli acknowledged he would like to bring Bacca back to Sevilla, they cannot grant him a return in January due to Ganso, Hiroshi Kiyotake and Mariano filling their three non-EU LaLig…

What the papers say

The Daily Mirror reports Kevin de Bruyne is high on the list of targets Saudi Arabian clubs intend to pursue next year. The paper says Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal’s whopping £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe was a wake-up call for the Premier League, with some sides already resigned to losing some of their best players. De Bruyne’s former Manchester City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli this summer, joining a growing list of high-profile players making the switch.

Speaking of Kylian Mbappe, the Mirror also reports the 24-year-old would be prepared to spend a season in the Premier League on loan before securing his dream move to Real Madrid. The Paris St Germain and France forward’s representatives are believed to have held discreet discussions…

Jurgen Klopp is hopeful fortune is on Liverpool’s side for the Premier League run-in after their 3-1 victory at Fulham moved them joint top of the table with Arsenal.

The Reds scored through Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota as they bounced back from Thursday’s Europa League exit to Atalanta and their Anfield defeat to Crystal Palace.

Klopp admitted the title race excites him, citing rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, much like Liverpool, will need luck during an intense period.

Jota strikes for our third at Craven Cottage |

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Liverpool have five games remaining and Klopp said: “Maybe if we can keep it as exciting then in the end fortune is maybe then on our side. We don’t know. We have to t…

Roma have announced they have completed the signing of Brazilian full-back Marquinho from Fluminense for a fee of 3.5 million euros.

The 25-year-old came to Roma in the January transfer window on a six-month loan deal, and has now inked a contract that will keep him at Roma until the end of the 2015/16 season.

Roma will pay Marquinho s transfer fee in two instalments, with the second lot to be paid before July 10, 2013.

Marquinho netted three times in 15 Serie A appearances for Roma in the 2011/12 campaign.

The Brazilian started his professional career at Palmeiras, and also wore the jerseys of Botafogo and Figueirense before joining Fluminense in 2009.

…

Former Melbourne Victory midfielder Carlos Hernandez has sealed his move to big-spending I-League club Prayag United.

Having finished seventh last season, the acquisition of Hernandez a member of Costa Rica s 2006 World Cup squad is the latest addition for Sanjoy Sen s Kolkata-based side.

In their bid to challenge for the league title and an AFC Cup spot, United have already paid huge amounts to secure the signing of the likes of Ranti Martins, Subrata Paul, Gouramangi Moirangthem.

Hernandez left Victory at the end of the 2011-12 season, having spent five years at the A-League powerhouse, where he won the Johnny Warren medal as best player for a dominant 2009-10 season.

A fan favourite and capable of the spectacular, he criticised the club s professiona…

West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has praised Sam Allardyce ahead of providing the opposition for his counterpart s return to Premier League management at Sunderland.

Sunderland travel to the Hawthorns on Saturday, searching for a maiden league win of the season with their new man at the helm for the first time.

Pulis points out that Allardyce has impressive form in steering teams away from relegation trouble and he also praised the 60-year-old s time at West Ham.

Allardyce rarely enjoyed popular support from the Upton Park faithful despite steering their side to promotion from the Championship in 2011-12 and going on to re-establish the Hammers in the top flight.

West Ham are currently sixth in the Premier League, four points behind leaders Manchester Ci…

Former Brazil international Zico has rubbished Qatar s prospective World Cup, claiming the event should not be held in a country that doesn t have football .

Qatar infamously won the right to host the 2022 World Cup in 2010, with widespread claims of corruption surrounding the country s bid.

Global frustration with Qatar s tarnished victory and ongoing stories of construction workers losing their lives in the process of building World Cup stadiums in the Middle Eastern kingdom provided a platform for Prince Ali bin Hussein to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency last week.

Zico is similarly unimpressed with Qatar s mandate to host the World Cup, with the mass arrests amongst FIFA s elite prompting the FC Goa coach to call for a new bidding process for t…

Market: Over 1.5 goals

Odds: 2/5 @

Hoping to extend their stay in the play-off spots on Tuesday night, Solihull Moors will make the trip to the Silverlake Stadium when they face off against Eastleigh.

Starting with the hosts, while Eastleigh might have shocked many across the National League with their eye-catching boost last month, the Spitfires came crashing back down to earth last weekend. Marking their return from an extended break, Ben Strevens side put in a nightmare display on home soil. Eventually getting hit with a 3-0 drumming against Aldershot at the Silverlake Stadium, the Blues almost find themselves sat in fifth-tier limbo. Knowing that they re in a real uphill battle if they re to try and mount a play-off charge this season, Eastleigh will be hopi…

Wesley Sneijder has hit out at former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal over the way he has dealt with players and staff during his career.

The attacking midfielder worked with Van Gaal at Ajax during the latter s time as sporting director before they were reunited with the national team in 2012.

Sneijder has always hailed Van Gaal s coaching abilities, but he is unimpressed with the ex-Manchester United boss interpersonal skills.

I have always said that Van Gaal is the best coach there is, technically and tactically, the Galatasaray ace told Fox Sports.

There is no better coach than Van Gaal.

But I think there is room for improvement when you look at the way he deals with his players and staff.

I had a perfect time with him on the p…