73,462 spectators packed into the Nou Camp yesterday to witness yet another Lionel Messi masterclass as the little Argentine fired home a hat-trick as Barcelona eased past PSV with a 4-0 win.
However, some controversy had already occurred ahead of the game as Barcelona ultras attacked the visitors in a violent clash which saw flares and bottles thrown between the two sets of supporters.
The Barcelona fans were definitely the aggressors as they chased the PSV fans through a square which looked to contain a restaurant. The restaurant's chairs were then used as missiles as the Barca fans looked to hound out the visiting supporters from their territory ahead of the game that kicked off at 5.55pm.
This new early kick-off time was brought in this season by UEFA who clearly did not consider the fans in this change, only the television viewers. Many supporters could not get to the games in MIlan or Barcelona in time after work and were forced to miss out because of these changes.
However, the early kick-off did not do anything to prevent this violence which is completely unacceptable on every level. Thankfully, no fans were seriously injured despite the vicious violence, although measurements must be put in place so that we do not see these scenes in the Champions League again.
Barcelona put on a show for their fans inside the stadium with some incredible goals but they would have hoped things would have gone as smoothly off the pitch as things did on it. See the shocking footage below.
