Barcelona Show Sporting Excellence

Barcelona 3 - 1 Sporting Clube

Barcelona lifted the gloom around Camp Nou with a commanding display that warranted a comfortable victory in what was a convincing start to the Champions League group stage.

Rafa Márquez, Samuel Eto'o and Xavi Hernández all scored for the Catalan giants as their quick passing football and dominance of possession saw them send out a message to the rest of Europe that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

After earning just one point from their opening two domestic matches, Pep Guardiola's side lived up to their promises of improvement by surviving a brief scare to defeat Sporting.

Rafa Márquez, Samuel Eto'o and Xavi Hernández all scored for the Catalan giants as their quick passing football and dominance of possession saw them send out a message to the rest of Europe that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

After earning just one point from their opening two domestic matches, Pep Guardiola's side lived up to their promises of improvement by surviving a brief scare to defeat Paulo Bento's side.

Sporting played their part by attempting to push forward and allowed the game to be slightly more open then the two that Barça have played in la Primera, but the visitors were still prone to sitting back in numbers.

Unlike against Racing, that did not mean that Barça were thwarted this time as they created chance after chance and the return of Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Andrés Iniesta to the starting line-up certainly helped.

At the back, Sylvinho must have been slightly miffed to have been over-looked to play left-back in favour of Carles Puyol who was asked to play in the one position at the back that he has never appeared in before.

Rafa Márquez was also back in action after recovering from a knock and he partnered the impressive Gerard Piqué in the centre of Guardiola's defence.

It was clear from the start that Barcelona had a point to prove and they went close on three occasions in the opening minutes through Iniesta, Henry and Xavi all looking for an early goal.

With fluidity not at its best despite domination of the ball, Guardiola was off the bench to bark instructions and moments later his side were in front but from an unexpected sourse.

Rafa Márquez was left completely unmarked at a corner and he was able to nod the ball back across goal and into the far of the net in the 21st minute to put Barça ahead from a set piece.

Fabio Rochemback returned to Camp Nou five years after leaving and he appeared intent on causing his former club problems, but the midfielder had left his shooting boots at home when he had the first of three shots during the match on the half-hour mark.

Henry and Eto'o switched positions with the Frenchman moving into the middle for a spell before the break and he had a hat-trick of chances to register, but went close on each occasion without netting.

Sporting had their moments and moved forward at speed, but Víctor Valdés had a quiet first half and his only disappointment will have been the visitors' goal which he could have done little about.

Before the Portuguese did score however, the home team were awarded a chance to move two clear when Eto'o and Abel made contact and the referee awarded a penalty that the Cameroonian international gladly stroked home.

The goal seemed to spark Sporting back into going forward and Derlei had his side's best chance shortly before they did eventually score, but his effort was saved by Valdés.

With 20 remaining Barça's defensive frailties were exposed when a free-kick flank was met by Tonel who squeezed himself in between four Barça defenders to prod the ball home.

That could have spurred the visitors on to new heights, but instead it was Barcelona that began to pour up field once again and they put the result beyond doubt with just three minutes remaining.

Iniesta looked up from the left flank and lifted the ball towards the far post where Xavi had raced forward to prod home from close range.

While Sporting were able to enjoy some possession and did score, Guardiola can have few complaints about the performance or the scoreline and will view the game as a huge step forward in his plans for the season.