Wednesday's Champions League match reports
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-03 08:43

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It came as little surprise when Eto'o took advantage of some slack defending to make it 2-0 when he directed a clever header past Galinovic after Iniesta picked him out with a neat cross.

Panathinaikos were unable to cope with the pinpoint passing of Iniesta and the pacy running of Messi and the 18-year-old Argentine scored his first goal in Europe, cashing in on a catalogue of errors from the Panthinaikos defence to poke home from close range.

Messi was heavily involved for Barca's fourth, speeding down the right before squaring the ball to Ronaldinho on the edge of the area. The Brazilian's subtle pass found Eto'o who drilled a shot past a demoralised Galinovic.

Panathinaikos created just one chance in the first half when Anthony Seric crossed to Flavio Conceicao, but the Brazilian's close range shot was blocked by the alert Victor Valdes.

Barca eased up in the second half but Eto'o still managed to complete his hat-trick, curling a stunning shot high over Galinovic after another fluent passing move.

"Things went very well for us," said Barcelona midfielder Iniesta. "We are certainly playing very well and with qualification now under our belt we can look forward to the rest of the matches with a different frame of mind."