AFP, DOHA: Goals from Luiz Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar helped Barcelona beat Saudi champions Al-Ahli 5-3 in a thrilling friendly in Doha on Tuesday.
The superstar trio all scored by the 17th minute, helping the Spanish giants to stroll into an early three-goal lead.
And perhaps more importantly for Barcelona, it also ensured all three could be substituted by the 32nd minute to allay any injury fears ahead of the Catalan derby against Espanyol on Sunday.
Meanwhile, an Afghan boy who became an internet sensation after pictures of him wearing an improvised Lionel Messi football shirt went viral finally got to meet his superstar idol on Tuesday.
Murtaza Ahmadi met the Barcelona forward in Doha.
Six-year-old Murtaza, from the rural Ghazni province southwest of Kabul, walked out onto the pitch as a mascot hand-in-hand with the Argentinian at the start of the match at Doha’s Al-Gharrafa stadium.
“The image the world wanted to see,” tweeted Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers, who brought the pair together.
“The six year old boy who dreamed of meeting his hero, #Messi, finally comes true.”
A delighted Murtaza said: “I’m very happy to have met my hero. It is a dream for me,” according to a statement released by Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the committee overseeing organisation of the 2022 tournament.
Murtaza became a worldwide online hit earlier this year after he was pictured wearing his hero’s shirt, made out of a plastic bag, with the name Messi and the famous number 10 written on it in marker pen.
The shirt was made by his teenage brother Homayoun after his neighbour threw away grocery bags.
“I love Messi, he plays really well, and I love the shirt my brother made for me,” he told AFP at the time.
His family could not afford to buy him a replica kit.
Pictures of Murtaza playing football in his improvised kit were first posted on Facebook.
After the pictures went viral, Murtaza received a real shirt from his hero.
His father, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi, said at the time: “I want my son to become the Messi of Afghanistan.”
Suarez opened the scoring with a glancing header in the eight minute from a Messi cross, before the Argentine quickly added a second just two minutes later.
Neymar, who had been struggling with a muscle strain since the Clasico against Real Madrid earlier this month, netted a fine third with a curling shot in the 17th minute.
Further goals from Paco Alcacer and Rafinha meant the La Liga champions were able to withstand a second-half comeback from the Saudi side.
Among the scorers for Al-Alhi was Omar Abdulrahman, AFC player of the year for 2016, who plays his football in the UAE but was allowed to turn out for the Saudis for the friendly.
He scored with a “Panenka” penalty in the 51st minute after Barcelona
goalkeeper Jordi Masip gave away the spot-kick.