"Messi was holding back this Barcelona super team" - Twitter erupts as Robert Lewandowski scores stunning hat-trick in 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen

Barcelona romped to a fantastic 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in their UEFA Champions League opener on September 7. Robert Lewandowski scored a phenomenal hat-trick to continue his rich vein of form.

Barca pressurized early on and made the breakthrough in the 12th minute. A sweeping Ousmane Dembele corner was flicked on by Jules Kounde.

Franck Kessie reacted quickest to head home his first goal in Barcelona colors to send the La Liga giants on their way to a comfortable victory.

The prolific Pole sent a stunning strike past the outstretched Jindrich Stanek, with Sergi Roberto providing the assist.

Plzen a sprung a surprise and pulled one back in the 44th minute when the Czech side broke on the counter and Jan Sykora steered past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

It would only prove to be mere consolation, however, as the Polish hitman would get on the scoresheet for a second time.

The Pole headed in from close range following Dembele's dazzling run and perfect cross in the dying embers of added time in the first half.

There was never really any doubting that Lewandowski wouldn't grab his hat-trick.

The former Bayern Munich striker curled a delightful effort past Stanek after a nice knock-on from Ferran Torres.

It is his sixth hat-trick scored in Champions League competition and his first for Barcelona.

Torres then slotted home Barca's fifth after he timed his run perfectly to meet Kessie's dink over the stagnant Plzen back four in the 71st minute.

Xavi Hernandez's men were deserved winners and romped to victory in style, with Plzen posing little to no threat whatsoever.

Here are some reactions from fans on Twitter to a phenomenal win for the Blaugrana and an electric hat-trick for Lewandowski:

Barcelona could be dark horses in this season's Champions League with Lewandowski at his best

However, Xavi's side are a real treat to watch and they have had an outstanding summer transfer window that has put them in contention to fight among the elite.

The Blaugrana had to sit back and watch their arch rivals Real Madrid lift both the La Liga title and the Champions League trophy last season.

The Catalan giants bowed out of Europe's elite club competition at the group stage.

That doesn't feel like it will be the case this time around with the likes of Lewandowski, Raphinha and Kounde now in the side.

The rejuvenated Barca may just be the dark horses of this season's Champions League.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

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A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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