Barcelona dominated Ajax at home but gave the Dutch side a chance to tie it late. The Catalans held on, though, for a 3-1 win during Tuesday's UEFA Champions League action.The hosts started the match in predictable manner, immediately dominating possession, but the opening five minutes passed without either side truly exploring the deep areas. That all changed after seven minutes, as the Blaugrana took an early lead through Neymar.Lionel Messi worked his magic, holding onto the ball after a clever run before playing it to his Brazilian team-mate. Neymar didn't hesitate for a second, curling his shot past Jasper Cillessen.The Catalans continued pressing forward, and Messi nearly found himself on the scoresheet after some great work from Jordi Alba. The Argentina international had space to shoot, but his effort went over the crossbar.Ajax started growing into the match, but another moment of brilliance from Messi stopped any momentum they were building. Timing his run to perfection, the pint-sized forward found himself on the end of a fantastic pass from Andres Iniesta, and he didn't miss in front of goal.As shared by WhoScored.com, the Barcelona star is in fine form:Pedro nearly made it 3-0 just minutes later, guiding his effort off the post after another excellent pass from Messi. The visitors were now reeling, and Joel Veltman was booked for taking out his frustration on Neymar.Gerard Pique could have seen red for an ill-advised shirt-pull on Ricardo Kishna, but the official didn't spot the contact and waved off appeals from Ajax. Just a minute later, Cillessen produced a brilliant stop to deny Iniesta's wonderful chip.Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's deflected effort caught Marc-Andre ter Stegen off guard just before half-time, but the ball rolled past the wrong side of the post. The score remained 2-0, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan felt bad for the visitors:The second half started very similarly to the first, with both teams taking a cautious approach. Messi thought he had scored his second after five minutes, but he was correctly ruled offside.The Argentine was clearly feeling himself, pouncing on a loose ball and finding an inch of space after some nifty footwork before firing the ball into the side netting. Ajax came close to opening their account, as Ricardo van Rhijn really should have hit the target from close range.Pique continued blundering around the pitch and nearly put the ball in his own net with a badly timed clearance, as it became clear to everyone in the stands this match wasn't over yet.Ajax pressed for a late consolation goal, and Davy Klaassen's volley nearly hit the target. Pique pulled Lucas Andersen's jersey to stop a counter-attack, but once again, referee William Collum waived to play on. Corrigan was not impressed with the veteran defender:The Dutch side finally found the breakthrough in the 88th minute, as Anwar El Ghazi took advantage of some dreadful defending to slot home from close range. El Ghazi came close to doubling his tally just one minute later, but Javier Mascherano dove in at the last second to come up with a huge block.Ajax were now in full attack mode, and Sandro Ramirez caught the Dutch side on the counter-attack, putting the final score on the board.GradesLionel Messi: A+At his very best, Messi is arguably the most unstoppable force in all of football. A goal and an assist only tell half the story, as the Argentine forward was at the very heart of every Catalan attack, making the Ajax defenders look like a high school team.Gerard Pique: DThe centre-back was unusually wasteful in possession, but what really lowered his grade were bad angles and unnecessary risks that could have led to multiple goals for the visitors.Collum could and perhaps should have sent him off in the first half, but after nearly putting the ball in his own net, fans may have wondered whether his dismissal would have been a good thing.Davy Klaassen: C-It's hard to single out any of the Ajax players, who simply fell victim to a far superior team having a fantastic night. We'll go with Klaassen, probably the least impressive performer. And it also gives me an excuse to post this Vine:Post-Match ReactionCorrigan didn't like how the Blaugrana finished the match, but he still considered it a successful night for the club:Dutch Football was realistic in its assessment:Luis Enrique reserved special praise for Mascherano, via Barcastuff:Ajax's Frank de Boer was not satisfied with his team's performance:Post-Match OutlookBarcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were the Group F favourites before the first Champions League ball was kicked this year, and at the midway point of the group stages that hasn't changed.APOEL have put together several valiant performances but lack the overall talent to qualify over one of the biggest teams, and Ajax's inexperience has haunted them in every single match they've played so far.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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