Barcelona 3-1 Borussia Dortmund: 4 Players who impressed for the Catalans | UEFA Champions League 2019/2020

Barcelona eased to the round-of-16 of the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, with goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, and Antoine Griezmann guiding the Catalans to yet another victory at Camp Nou.

The LaLiga giants ground out a nervy 2-1 win over Leganes in the league over the weekend and given that they disappointingly drew with Slavia Prague last time out in the Champions League, their fans would have expected nothing but a victory against Dortmund.

That was exactly what happened, with Barcelona dominating proceedings from start to finish in what was a largely one-sided affair.

Their victory means that they would top their Champions League group for the 13th season running and Ernesto Valverde would have been very pleased with the output of a number of his players.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting four players who starred for the Blaugrana in their 3-1 defeat of Borussia Dortmund.

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#4 Antoine Griezmann

Griezmann opened his Champions League account for Barcelona

After yet another anonymous display in the league fixture against Leganes, Antoine Griezmann was hauled off in the 57th minute for Arturo Vidal.

It, therefore, came as not much of a surprise when he started the game against Borussia Dortmund on the bench, with Ernesto Valverde starting with a front three of Ousmane Dembele, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suarez.

Griezmann, however, got his chance earlier than he would have thought when his international compatriot pulled up with what appeared to be a thigh injury in the 25th minute.

Although he struggled to get into the groove of the game at first, the former Atletico Madrid man soon settled into the thick of things and was on hand to get on the end of a beautifully weighted pass from Lionel Messi to put Barcelona 3-1 up.

Griezmann's overall play still left a lot to be desired, but he would have been very glad to open his Champions League account for the Blaugrana, while Messi's genuine happiness in the celebration of the goal would help put paid to speculation that the Barcelona captain is not entirely on board with him.

Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers

#3 Samuel Umtiti

Umtiti was a rock at the back

Samuel Umtiti began his Barcelona career like a house on fire and after he played a starring role in France's World Cup triumph in 2018, many tipped him for greatness at the heart of the Blaugrana defence.

However, injuries have been unkind to the 26-year-old and persistent knee troubles saw him spend over five months on the treatment table last term, missing 27 games in the process.

This season has not seen him fare any better and even though the campaign is barely one-third of the way in, Umtiti has already suffered two injuries that has seen him miss 10 of Barcelona's 19 games in all competitions.

On his day, the French international is still one of the premier defenders in the world and he once again showcased his abilities in the game against Dortmund.

Partnering Clement Lenglet for what was only his fourth start of the season, Samuel Umtiti made a strong case to be integrated back into the starting 11, and put up a good display on a night when Gerard Pique was missing from the matchday squad due to a suspension.

The former Lyon man completed a game-high 93.9% pass accuracy and played a key role in keeping a normally buoyant Dortmund attack quiet for most of the night with his brilliant positioning and sense of awareness.

#2 Luis Suarez

FC Barcelona v Borussia Dortmund: Group F - UEFA Champions League

For all of his brilliance in front of goal over the last decade, Luis Suarez has found himself on the receiving end of growing criticism, with many questioning his suitability as the focal point of Barcelona's attack in addition to his somewhat laborious play.

Despite the criticisms levelled against him, the 32-year-old is a consummate professional who goes about his business in his usual way and despite having scored over 400 professional career goals, Luis Suarez has not lost any of his enthusiasm for putting the ball in the back of the net.

He thought he opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 24th minute against Dortmund when he expertly finished a Messi pass with one-touch, but the linesman pulled him up for offside and VAR checks revealed the decision was the right one.

He was, however, not to be denied in the 29th minute, with Suarez' 10th goal and third Champions League goal of the season breaking Dortmund's resistance and setting Barcelona on the way to another famous win.

Four minutes after he got on the scoresheet, Luis Suarez turned provider for Lionel Messi, teeing up his captain with a perfectly weighted ball to all but confirm the result.

In total, the former Liverpool man had three shots, with two of those on target, while he also made three key passes and won one aerial ball.

#1 Lionel Messi

Messi was unplayable against Dortmund

It was another masterclass display from Lionel Messi and once again, the Rosario icon proved to be the difference between victory and defeat for Barcelona.

From the time he played Luis Suarez in for the goal which was eventually disallowed, Messi looked in the mood and after providing the assist for the opener, he got in on the act with his 10th goal of the campaign.

The goal saw him enter the record books as the player who has scored against the most opponents (34) in the Champions League and Barcelona fans must be dreading the day their talisman would hang up his boots.

Messi ended the game against Dortmund with a goal and two assists, while he also posted incredible numbers in other areas of the game.

He completed a game-high of 11 dribbles (more than every starting player else combined), supplied four key passes, won an aerial ball, while there was also the requisite trademark mazy run and precise freekick - only that this time, it hit the woodwork rather than nestle in the back of the net.