Brilliant Barça brush Basel aside

Brilliant Barça brush Basel aside

FC Basel 1893 wore the red and blue but there was no mistaking FC Barcelona at St. Jakob-Park, the Blaugrana totally outclassing their Group C rivals to record a 5-0 win and march ever closer to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
Equal best

Their 200th triumph in UEFA club competition, it was also their equal best in this tournament and looked nigh on inevitable as soon Lionel Messi had struck his 50th goal for the club with just four minutes gone. Sergi Busquets then doubled their advantage eleven minutes later before teenager Bojan Krkić added a third seven minutes after that, giving the visitors a perfect start that they repeated after the interval, when Bojan added his second and Xavi Hernández notched a fifth goal in the space of two minutes.
Explosive start

The early murmurs suggested Basel might prove the more ambitious team from the start, Christian Gross electing to accommodate both Marco Streller and Eren Derdiyok up front while counterpart Josep Guardiola left key trio Samuel Eto'o, Andrés Iniesta and Thierry Henry on the bench. Such thinking quickly proved foolish, however, with Messi feeding Daniel Alves on the edge of the area and running on to the Brazilian's delightfully chipped return pass to sidefoot in from almost point-blank range.
Damage increased

Hardly had the Rotblau recovered from that crushing blow than they found themselves two down, Xavi picking out Busquets on the right and the Spanish midfielder driving between the legs of Franco Costanzo. The Basel goalkeeper then denied Xavi's sliding effort but Barça continued to press and registered again when surprise starter Bojan made space for himself in front of goal and speared a shot low into the left corner.
Chasing shadows

Only a goalline block from another Bojan effort and a Costanzo save from Alves's follow-up spared the hosts a four-goal deficit in the first half an hour, but the punishment continued as Gross's shell-shocked troops were left chasing shadows. Bojan blasted off-target from an excellent position and Aleksandr Hleb had a low attempt turned wide, prompting a relief equally palpable when the whistle finally blew for half-time.
Bojan double

Gross sent on Valentin Stocker for Eduardo Rubio after the break, but within 60 seconds Costanzo was picking the ball out of his net again, Bojan crowning a swift counterattack with a firm finish after being released by Busquets. Two minutes later, Hleb and Messi combined to set Xavi up for his share of the spoils, and although the sight of Henry then coming on for the UEFA EURO 2008™ winner cannot have done much for the locals' nerves, they at least got to experience a reprieve when Bojan lobbed narrowly over.
Rare chance

At the other end, Streller finally threatened Víctor Valdés' goal when he beat Carles Puyol and dug out a hopeful shot that was swept clear. That said more about Barça's diminished intensity than anything else, though, and Basel must already be dreading their trip to the Camp Nou on 4 November. Mathematically, they still have a chance of qualifying – but according to that criteria their conquerors may still fail to progress. Those scenarios ought to resolve themselves soon.
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