Barcelona welcomed Borussia Monchengladbach to Camp Nou on Tuesday night as Group C in the Champions League drew to a close.
The Spanish champions, who had already qualified for the last-16 stage of the competition as winners of the section, led 1-0 at the interval courtesy of Lionel Messi's 10th Champions League goal of the season.
Arda Turan then scored a second-half hat-trick as Barcelona breezed past their Bundesliga opponents to make it five wins from six Group C matches.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's live minute-by-minute coverage of the action below.
6.46pmEvening all! Sports Mole's live Champions League coverage continues from Camp Nou as Spanish champions Barcelona welcome German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach. Group C has already been decided ahead of its final two matches tonight, but Barcelona will be keen to put on a strong performance amid a difficult period of the season. It should be an open and entertaining match!
6.49pmEden Hazard's brother Thorgan Hazard actually sent Gladbach ahead when the two teams met in the reverse match back in September, but Arda Turan levelled the scores in the 65th minute, before Gerard Pique won it in the 73rd minute. The pair have never met in this particular stadium, but Barcelona have won 12 of their last 13 home Champions League games against German opposition.
6.52pmGladbach, meanwhile, have only won one of their seven away games against Spanish opposition in all competitions. That sole success came in the 1974-75 season, when they recorded a 4-2 victory over Real Zaragoza. This is the Bundesliga side's first visit to Camp Nou, but they have played in Barcelona once before – losing to Catalan side Espanyol in the first round of the 1987-88 UEFA Cup.
6.55pmRight, without further ado, let me bring you up-to-speed with the all-important team news from Camp Nou. Both sides were in league action at the weekend – Barcelona drawing 1-1 with Real Madrid and Gladbach losing 4-1 at Borussia Dortmund. So, any changes? Let's run through the two XIs...
6.58pmTEAMS!
FCB: Cillessen; Vidal, Mascherano, Umtiti, Digne; Gomes, Iniesta, Denis; Messi, Alcacer, Turan
GLAD: Sommer; Elvedi, Jantschke, Vestergaard, Christensen; Korb, Strobl, Dahoud, Schulz; Hazard, Hahn
7.02pmSo there we have it. Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has made eight changes to the team that started El Clasico at the weekend, with only Javier Mascherano, Andre Gomes and Lionel Messi keeping their spots in the XI. Jasper Cillessen replaces Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks, while Aleix Vidal and Lucas Digne are given spots in the two full-back positions. Andres Iniesta also returns following injury and summer signing Paco Alcacer will continue his search for his first Barcelona goal at centre-forward.
📍 #Messi will make official appearance number 549 in a Barça shirt - equalling Migueli on the all time list in 4th place #FCBlive pic.twitter.com/rc5GPBtjoM
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 6, 2016
7.05pmGladbach boss Andre Schubert, meanwhile, has also shuffled his pack from the weekend. Brazilian forward Raffael is among those to drop out of the team, while Christoph Kramer and Oscar Wendt have also been named on the bench. Andre Hahn will lead the Gladbach line with support from Thorgan Hazard, while Nico Schulz and skipper Tony Jantschke are also handed starts at Camp Nou.
7.08pmSo there we have it. The two teams are in and we are now just under 40 minutes from kickoff on this mild night in Barcelona. Just a reminder that on paper, there is nothing to play for tonight – Barcelona have already won Group C, while Gladbach will finish third and drop into the Europa League regardless of what happens here, or in Manchester City's home match against Celtic.
7.12pmBarcelona's total of 12 points from five matches means that they are certain of finishing top of the section for the 10th consecutive season. They beat Celtic and Gladbach in their first two group matches, before thumping Man City 4-0 at Camp Nou on October 19. Luis Enrique's side then lost 3-1 at Man City in the reserve match on November 11, but beat Celtic 2-0 late last month to win Group C.
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7.15pmBarcelona have actually won their last 13 Champions League games at Camp Nou – scoring 40 times in the process. Rubin Kazan were the last team to beat the Spanish giants in the group stage of this competition and that was back in October 2009. What's more, no team has scored more than one goal against Barcelona in the last 18 Champions League group games at Camp Nou.
7.18pmBarcelona, who have triumphed in 22 of their 28 Champions League games under Luis Enrique, have won the European Cup in four of the last 11 seasons. No other team has won it more than twice during the same period, while the Catalan giants have reached at least the semi-finals of the competition in seven of the last nine campaigns, which is a stunning record at this level of football.
7.21pm
📍 Named in the starting XI for #FCBBorussia, Javier Mascherano is in line to make his 300th official appearance in a Barça shirt #FCBlive pic.twitter.com/HIHtKagK2M
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 6, 2016
7.24pmIt has not been all plain-sailing in recent weeks, however, with the Catalan outfit winning just one of their last five games in all competitions. They were held to a goalless draw by Malaga in this stadium on November 19, before drawing 1-1 at Real Sociedad in the league on November 27. Next up was a 1-1 draw with Segunda B side Hercules in the first leg of their last-32 clash in the Copa del Rey.
7.27pmIt did appear that Barcelona would secure a vital three points against Real Madrid at the weekend when they led 1-0 into the latter stages of El Clasico, but Sergio Ramos had other ideas as he headed a 90th-minute leveller. As a result, Barcelona are still six points behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and have faced criticism for their under-par performances in recent weeks.
7.30pmAs for Gladbach, the German outfit are without a win in their last seven games in all competitions. They will enter this match off the back of a 4-1 defeat to Dortmund in the Bundesliga at the weekend, which has left them down in 13th spot in the table – some 12 points off the top four, which suggests that they will have to win the Europa League to play Champions League football next season.
7.33pm
Here's the #Fohlenelf for our first ever competitive game at Camp Nou! 🐎 #UCL #FCBBMG pic.twitter.com/52cIhijK5H
— Gladbach (@borussia_en) December 6, 2016
7.36pmAs mentioned, Gladbach have only won one of their five Group C matches – drawing twice and losing twice – but they have already secured third spot in the section ahead of Celtic and a place in the knockout stage of the Europa League. They opened their group campaign with back-to-back defeats against Man City and Barcelona, before recording a 2-0 win at Celtic on October 19.
7.39pmBoth of Gladbach's last two Group C matches have finished 1-1 – first sharing the points at home to Celtic on November 1, before the same scoreline occurred at home to Man City on November 23. This is actually only Gladbach's second ever season in the group stage of the Champions League. Last season, they were drawn alongside Sevilla, Man City and Juventus in Group D and only won one of their six matches to finish bottom of the group. Right, kickoff inside a vibrant Camp Nou is imminent!
7.42pmBoth sets of players have joined us on the pitch ahead of kickoff in Spain. Just a reminder that Group C has already been decided ahead of its final two games tonight. Barcelona have won the section, Man City have gone through in second and Gladbach have finished third and secured a spot in the Europa League. With the pressure off, both managers have shuffled their teams tonight!
0 minKICKOFF! Barcelona kick things off on home soil...
2 min... it must be said that there is a brilliant atmosphere inside the stadium tonight. The result of this match is not going to take on too much importance, which should mean an open and entertaining clash between two teams that like to have the ball. Early possession, as expected, for the home side.
4 minIt has been a strong start from Barcelona, who are very much on the front foot early on. The hosts have a half-chance when Messi meets a corner from Iniesta, but his effort was always too high. Vidal and Digne are almost playing as wingers rather than full-backs in the early stages tonight.
4 minHahn breaks through on the Barcelona goal and fires towards the bottom corner, but Cillessen made the save and in fact, the offside flag was raised. Replays show that he was onside though.
6 minGladbach are playing 4-4-2 tonight and there are already signs that Barcelona will dominate the middle of the park with their midfield three. No real chances to report in the opening six minutes, but both teams have shown a willingness to commit players in the final third of the field.
8 minGood grief - Celtic have taken the lead away to Manchester City in Group C's other fixture. It will not impact on Gladbach's chances of finishing third, but that is some start from the Scots!
11 minAs expected, Barcelona are dominating the possession as things stand, but Gladbach have been pretty solid defensively in the opening 11 minutes. Vidal threatened to find Messi with a super cross from the right, but Vestergaard was on hand to make the clearance. Interesting battle developing here.
11 minMan City have levelled against Celtic - Iheanacho on the scoresheet for 1-1.
13 minBetter from the away side in the last couple of minutes as they manage to keep hold of the ball, but Barcelona are pretty comfortable as things stand. Still goalless with 13 minutes on the clock here.
14 minCHANCE! Wonderful chance for the home side to make the breakthrough as Turan threads a low cross into Messi, but the Argentine cannot make contact and Gladbach somehow manage to clear their lines. Gladbach are dropping deeper and deeper at the moment.
16 minGOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Gladbach (Messi)
17 minBarcelona make the breakthrough in the 16th minute of this match as Messi combines with Turan before sending the ball into the opposite corner. That is his 10th in the Champions League this term!
18 minSAVE! Sommer flies across his goal to keep out a deflected effort from Messi!
20 minGladbach are getting a lesson at the moment and if they are not careful, this could turn into a hiding. Barcelona are utterly dominating possession in the final third and they continue to pick pockets of space inside the away side's box. Messi, as expected, has been magic so far tonight.
22 minPass, pass, pass from Barcelona as they continue to work Gladbach all over the pitch. The German side are still playing 4-4-2 and it is very difficult for their midfield two to make an impact.
23 minAndre Gomes hits one from distance as the ball bounces for the Barcelona midfielder outside the Gladbach box, but his effort was always finding the stands. Domination from the home side here.
26 minGladbach have not offered too much in the final third tonight, but Hazard has some serious legs and Barcelona are playing a very high line at the moment. You get the feeling that the visitors will get chances tonight, but Barcelona look capable of scoring every time they quicken the pace in the final third.
27 minIniesta sends one wide of the post following another lengthy period of Barcelona possession. Gladbach have a lot of tired players out there at the moment, and this game is only 27 minutes old.
28 minSAVE! Sommer has to get down to keep out a long-range Turan strike as Barcelona continue to threaten a second goal. It has been all one-way traffic at Camp Nou tonight.
31 minBarcelona are simply all over Gladbach like a bad smell. There is nothing to play for tonight in terms of Group C, but Barcelona have the look of a team keen to bounce back from three straight La Liga draws. Gladbach, on the other hand, look a team just trying to hold on under such severe pressure.
33 minLittle over 10 minutes of the first period remaining and Gladbach continue to drop deeper and deeper in a bid to survive this onslaught. It is almost like a training exercise for Barcelona here.
35 minStill 1-1 between Man City and Celtic in Scotland and that seems to be a very entertaining game! Here, the entertainment has been minimal to be honest due to the one-sided nature of it.
37 minNot too much to report in terms of chances in the last few minutes, but Barcelona are still dominating as they pass the 70% mark in terms of possession. Messi continues to cause problems in the final third, while Turan and Iniesta are seeing plenty of the ball for the Spanish champions tonight.
40 minMahmoud Dahoud has been very, very impressive for the away side in the opening 40 minutes of this match, but his teammates have been largely disappointing. We have hardly seen Hazard in a wide position, while the likes of Hahn and Schulz have also struggled to lay a glove on Barcelona.
42 minA major positive for Gladbach is that the score is only 1-0 entering the final stages of this first period. Barcelona have just dropped off their intensity in the last few minutes here.
44 minCHANCE! Wonderful chance for the home side to score a second as Vidal breaks down the right before delivering a low cross into Messi, but Strobl is on hand to make a wonderful challenge at the final moment. It did appear that Messi was heading for his second goal of the night there.
45 min+1HALF-TIME: Barcelona 1-0 Gladbach
8.32pmSo there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with Barcelona leading 1-0 courtesy of Messi's 10th Champions League goal of the season. In truth, it has been very, very straightforward for the home side, who have completely dominated matters at Camp Nou.
8.37pmSTATISTICS! Barcelona enjoyed 72% of the possession in the first period, while they had seven shots - three of which were on target. Gladbach, meanwhile, failed to register a single shot and in truth, they have not even come close. No cards to report in what was been a calm game for the referee.
8.42pmBENCH WATCH! Busquets and Luis Suarez are both on the Barcelona bench tonight, but it seems more likely that we will see Rafinha and Cardona if Luis Enrique decides to look to the sidelines. As for Gladbach, Raffael, Hofmann, Sow, Wendt and Johnson are among those avaialble for Schubert.
8.47pm
🔝 Leo #Messi 👑 now has 10 goals in the #UCL 2016/17 group stage! #FCBlive #FCBBorussia pic.twitter.com/2lwrQ4v08H
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 6, 2016
46 minRESTART! Gladbach resume the action at Camp Nou...
47 min... no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise at this stage of proceedings. However, I suspect that both managers will already have alterations in mind.
49 minAs poor as Gladbach have been tonight, they are only one goal behind and would surely fancy their chances of creating opportunities against this make-shift Barcelona defence. The first corner of the second period is awarded to the visitors, but Hahn cannot beat Turan to the low cross.
50 minAlcacer beats the offside trap and gets himself in a straight race with Sommer for the ball, but the Gladbach goalkeeper makes first contact and can clear his lines. Not sure Alcacer fancied that.
50 minGOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Gladbach (Turan)
51 minBarcelona have their second of the night in the 50th minute as Suarez's cross is deflected towards the back post and Turan is on hand to nod home from close range. Should be game, set, match.
53 minIt has been far too easy for Barcelona tonight. Far, far too easy. Gladbach are without a few key players, but this is a understrength Barcelona XI and they have been miles too strong for the visitors.
53 minGOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Gladbach (Turan)
54 minBarcelona have their third and Turan has his second as the Turkish international steers a low Vidal cross into the bottom corner. It is a super finish from the attacker, who has been excellent here.
55 minBOOKING! Dahoud (Gladbach) is booked for a late challenge on Umtiti.
58 minSAVE! Alcacer's wait for his first Barcelona goal continues as the Spanish striker fires straight at Sommer from close range. I would be surprised if we had seen the last of the goals here.
59 minGLADBACH SUBS! Johnson and Kramer replace Schulz and Dahoud here.
61 minBARCELONA SUB! Rafinha replaces Iniesta in Barcelona's first change.
63 minNot too much to report in terms of chances in the last few minutes, but the away side have started to see more of the ball in the final third of the field. I would be surprised if we had seen the last of the goals in this match as both teams press players forward. Alcacer wants that Barcelona goal!
65 minVidal has hardly had a kick for the Barcelona first team this season, but the Spaniard has been really impressive tonight and he might have played his way into Enrique's plans for La Liga.
66 minPENALTY SHOUT! Mascherano appears to bring Hahn to the deck inside the Barcelona box, but the referee is not interested and Umtiti is across to clear at the final moment.
67 minGOAL! Barcelona 4-0 Gladbach (Turan, hat-trick)
68 minBarcelona have four and Turan has a hat-trick as the Turkish international converts at the far post after Alcacer had placed a dangerous cross into the Gladbach box. It is a bit of a thumping here.
71 minLittle under 20 minutes of football remaining at Camp Nou and Barcelona fancy more goals as they continue to commit players in the final third. Gladbach, on the other hand, are going to be on the end of another defeat tonight, following on from their 4-1 loss to Dortmund in the league at the weekend.
73 minGLADBACH SUB! Raffael replaces Hazard for the away side.
74 minSAVE! Messi has a free header inside the Gladbach box, but Sommer is on hand to make a brilliant save. This could have been seven or eight but for the away side's goalkeeper!
74 minBARCELONA SUB! Cardona replaces Turan in Barcelona's second change.
76 minLittle under 15 minutes of the second period remaining and this is just the response that Barcelona needed following three straight league draws. They have rested a number of key players tonight and have still been far too good for this disappointing and inexperienced Gladbach outfit.
79 minIt has not been a particularly difficult night for the referee, but there have been some late challenges in the last few minutes as Gladbach continue to spend long periods without the ball.
81 minThe pace of the match has really dropped in the last few minutes as Barcelona just keep hold of the ball in non-threatening areas. In truth, it is almost like a possession-based training exercise now.
82 minJohnson breaks clear for the away side after smart work from Raffael, but the American just goes too wide and his cross fails to find a teammate. That is the first time that Gladbach have threatened in the second period. It has been a desperately poor performance from the German side tonight.
84 minThere is no question that Raffael and Johnson have improved Gladbach since entering the field, but it has come far too late. It is a big surprise that Raffael was not picked to start this match.
86 minNot too much of an atmosphere inside the stadium at the moment as the Barcelona supporters start to make their way towards the exits. It is approaching 10.30pm local time and the little nippers have school tomorrow. They might well miss a late goal though as Barcelona quicken the pace.
88 minUmtiti's pace has got Barcelona out of a number of dangerous situations in the last five or so minutes, with Raffael quite comfortably improving Gladbach since entering the field here.
90 minDigne fires one into the stands as the seconds continue to tick on here.
90 min+1Just the one additional minute at the end of the 90 here.
90 min+2FULL-TIME: Barcelona 4-0 Gladbach
9.35pmSo there we have it. The referee brings the second period to a close with Barcelona running out 4-0 winners over Gladbach at Camp Nou to make it five Group C victories. The Catalan giants will march on to the next stage of the competition, while Gladbach's European journey will continue in the Europa League. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for more live action. Until next time!
