UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:Barcelona 2 Dynamo Kiev 0, Messi26 Pedrito76 Att:27,000

LIONEL MESSI and Pedrito struck in each half to give holders Barcelona a 2-0 win last night.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic caused the Dynamo defence early problems, but it was Messi who opened the scoring in the 25th minute when he cut in from the right and struck a low shot that had enough power to beat Olexandr Shovkovskiy.

The Argentina forward had several chances to double Barcelona’s lead before Pedrito picked up Ibrahimovic’s pass in the 76th minute and sent a precise shot into the bottom left corner.

Dynamo striker Andriy Shevchenko, back at his original club after spells in Italy and England, scored a first-half hat-trick in a 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the 1997-98 season, but there was to be no repeat last night.

The former AC Milan and Chelsea man, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday, blazed one shot over the bar in the early stages, but laboured on his own up front for most of the match.

In the group’s other game Russian champions Rubin Kazan held Inter Milan to a 1-1 draw to earn their first point in Europe’s premier club competition.

Rubin forward Alejandro Dominguez stunned the Italian champions with a great solo effort in the 11th minute. Dejan Stankovic equalised 16 minutes later.

BARCELONA:Valdes, Abidal, Dani Alves, Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta (Pedrito 47), Keita, Toure Yaya (Busquets 68), Ibrahimovic (Jeffren 85), Messi. Subs not used: Pinto, Marquez, Maxwell, Assulin.

DYNAMO KIEV:Shovkovskiy, Leandro Almeida, Khacheridi, Vukojevic, Eremenko, Gusev (Ninkovic 85), Yussuf (Ghioane 48), Gerson Magrao (Betao 73), Shevchenko, Milevskiy, Yarmolenko. Subs not used: Bogush, Diakhate, Mykhalyk, Kravets. Booked: Gerson Magrao, Leandro Almeida.

Referee:B Kuipers (Holland).

Group F

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Barcelona2110204

Dynamo Kiev2101333

Inter Milan2020112

Rubin Kazan2011241

Last Night’s Other Group Game

Rubin Kazan(1) 1 Inter Milan(1) 1

Dominguez 11 Stankovic 27