Neymar hits hat-trick as Barcelona crush Celtic

Neymar finally showed the goalscoring touch he has been threatening with a hat-trick as Barcelona shrugged off their recent dip in form with a 6-1 win over Celtic on Wednesday to seal top spot in Champions League Group H.

Gerard Pique stabbed home with seven minutes on the clock and, with Celtic stretched at the back, Pedro and Neymar both finished clinically before half-time.

Neymar had never scored before in Europe but got two more after the break, with Adam Matthews unable to stop the Brazilian's third from going over the line. Cristian Tello completed Barca's scoring with another deflected shot.

Celtic grabbed a consolation goal through Giorgios Samaras two minutes from time.

Barca finish top of the section with 13 points, four ahead of second-placed Milan and five ahead of Ajax, who drew 0-0 at the San Siro.9218