Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona started their Champions League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Ajax.

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Barcelona commenced the contest with their usual confidence and enjoyed plenty of possession early on, with Cesc Fabregas coming close to an opening goal when he fired an effort over the crossbar.

Ajax threatened to assert some superiority of their own as the first half progressed, but Lionel Messi ended a good spell for the visitors when he curled in a free kick to score his 60th goal in the Champions League.

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The Dutch side had chances to level the scores before the break, with Ricardo van Rhijn testing Victor Valdes with a header from close range.

Valdes was forced into another save just before the interval when he pushed away Lerin Duarte's curled effort.

Barcelona did not take long to double their lead in the second half and it was Messi who found the net again with a powerful strike after beating a couple of defenders by cutting onto his left foot.

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The hosts added a third in the 69th minute when Neymar picked out Gerard Pique with an inch-perfect cross and the central defender made no mistake with his header.

Messi completed his hat-trick six minutes later by picking up a loose ball inside the box before slotting his third goal of the night into the bottom corner.

Ajax were gifted the opportunity to snatch a consolation goal late on when Javier Mascherano fouled Thulani Sereno inside the box, but Valdes produced another good save to keep out Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's penalty and secure an eye-catching win for the home team.