LIONEL MESSI’S first goal of the Champions League season took three minutes Tuesday. Edinson Cavani needed just 44 seconds for Paris Saint-Germain. Manchester City never got the chance to start.

    Messi’s fast start was the first of a hat trick in Barcelona’s 7-0 rout of Celtic, and fellow superstar forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez also scored. Celtic had a penalty saved when trailing 1-0 midway through the first half.

    Cavani’s even faster strike was the end of PSG’s scoring in Paris against Arsenal, and Alexis Sanchez’s late equalizer earned a 1-1 draw.

    Heavy rain in Manchester forced City’s game against Borussia Moenchengladbach to be called off 20 minutes before kickoff.

    Bayern Munich managed just fine under new coach Carlo Ancelotti. Champions League newcomer Rostov was beaten 5-0 in Munich.

    In Group C, Barcelona’s trio of stars teamed up to outclass Celtic in a record-setting night at Camp Nou.

    Messi’s hat trick included two goals in the first half hour, while Neymar struck with a free kick and set up another four goals. Suarez did his part with two goals against the new team of his former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

    The result surpassed Barcelona’s biggest win in the competition — a 7-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. It also improved on a 6-1 win over Celtic from their last meeting in 2013.

    Messi’s three goals took his Champions League career tally to 86 goals, to still trail Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 94.

    Celtic’s 5-1 rout of fierce Scottish rival Rangers on Saturday seemed long ago. Moussa Dembele scored a hat trick in the Glasgow derby but on Tuesday had a first-half penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

    Beaten by the torrential rain in northwest England, group rivals Manchester City and Borussia Moenchengladbach were surely impressed by what they saw from Spain.

    In Group A, a pair of 1-1 draws in Paris and Basel left visiting teams Arsenal and Ludogorets happier with their work.

    Arsenal seemed set for a tough night at Parc des Princes when Uruguay forward Cavani headed in Serge Aurier’s cross in the first minute.

    Cavani, now with more responsibility after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s offseason exit, then missed three clear chances to extend the lead.

    Alexis Sanchez of Chile scored in the 78th minute against the run of the play when he fired home the rebound from 10 meters after PSG keeper Alphonse Areola parried Alex Iwobi’s powerful shot.

    (SD-Agencies)