Neymar and Luis Suarez again stepped up to the plate in Lionel Messi’s absence as the pair fired Barcelona to a 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov on Wednesday.
Andres Iniesta made a cameo appearance at Getafe on Saturday, having missed the past month with a hamstring setback, but was free to start against the Belarussians in an advanced role, with Sergi Roberto keeping his place in central midfield.
Elsewhere for the competition holders, Marc-Andre ter Stegen replaced Claudio Bravo in goal, while Adriano, Thomas Vermaelen and Javier Mascherano featured in a new-look backline, but former Cule Aleksandr Hleb was only named as a substitute on his return to Camp Nou.
La Blaugrana unsurprisingly dominated possession at Camp Nou, but BATE’s fearless approach to going forward made for an intriguing first half, which was overshadowed by a suspected calf injury to Ivan Rakitic after just 20 minutes.
Munir El Haddadi was elected as the Croat’s replacement, and he made an instant impact as his deft one-two with Luis Suarez in the box resulted in him being hauled to the ground, leaving Neymar with the task of coolly sweeping home the penalty.
Barca were dealt an easier hand in the second half, despite Adriano not conceding an apparent penalty on Igor Stasevich, and soon doubled their lead as Neymar’s ball into the box was superbly managed by Suarez, who took a touch before toe-poking a finish beyond Chernik.
The win was then confirmed with eight minutes remaining in an identical role-reversal, Suarez this time squaring into the path of Neymar for a simple tap-in.
Roma’s comeback victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Group E’s other match means Barca must wait another matchday to book their place in the Champions League last 16.
Barcelona 3-0 BATE Borisov
Neymar pen 30, 83, Suarez 60
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Mascherano, Vermaelen, Adriano; Busquets (Gumbau 76), Rakitic (Munir 20), Sergi; Iniesta (Bartra 68), Suarez, Neymar
BATE Borisov: Chernik; Polyakov, Gaiduchik, Milunovic, Mladenovic; A Volodko (Nikolic 68), Yablonski; Stasevich, Gordeichuk, M Volodko (Rios 81); Mozolevski (Hleb 61)
Referee: Vad [HUN]
