Second-placed Barcelona move four points clear of Ajax
Barca one behind Group F leaders PSG, who beat Apoel
Teams at the halfway point of the group stage
Ajax boss Frank de Boer hands over another substitution form to the fourth official in an attempt to salvage the game. Jairo Riedewald - the youngest-ever scorer in the Eredivisie - trots on for Niki Zimling.
The cameras inside the Nou Camp have just homed in on ex-Barca captain Carles Puyol. He's yawning. An Ajax goal would liven things up and the Dutch champions do force a rare opener. But the chances falls to right-back Ricardo van Rhijn, who slices horribly wide.
Image source, APIf Ajax manage to stop Messi scoring another I'll eat my hat. The Barca magician dances through the Ajax defence, showing quicker feet than John Travolta in Grease as he pounces on a loose ball, and then the net bulges. The side-netting. Close but not close enough.
Now Lionel Messi has the ball in the onion bag. The Argentina captain sticks out a toe to divert Pedro's shot past Jasper Cillessen but he doesn't celebrate. He knows he is offside and turns to see the linesman's flag wafting in the Catalonia air.
But Milik barely has time to tuck his shirt into his shorts before seeing Barca almost grab a third. That man Messi dribbles into the danger zone but wildly fires over.
Frank de Boer had to do something at the break, and he has in the shape of a substitution. Teenager Ricardo Kishna is hooked and replaced by Poland international Arkadiusz Milik - who you may recall scored in their surprise 2-0 victory over Germany.
And that means that the Group F table currently looks like this....
Goals are flying in across Europe tonight - except in Cyprus. That's where Barcelona and Ajax's Group F rivals Apoel Nicosia and Paris St-Germain are doing battle. Goalless over there.
Ajax boss Frank de Boer was playing - and his brother Ronald scored - when the Dutch side last won on Spanish soil. That was a 3-2 extra-time win at Atletico Madrid in the 1996-97 Champions League quarter-finals.
Image source, EPABefore kick-off, Ajax boss - and ex-Barcelona defender - Frank de Boer was blowing kisses to the Nou Camp crowd which used to adore him. But after that first-half display by his players, he will be blowing raspberries now...
Image source, APNow a bead of perspiration dribbles off the brow of Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson shoots speculatively from distance and Ter Stegen is almost left wrongfooted by a huge deflection off Marc Bartra.
Moments after Ajax had the audacity to go into the Barca half (se 36 mins), the Dutch champions have upped the ante further - by having a shot. But it is a poor one. Niki Zimling's slashing a tame effort wide. Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has not broken sweat yet.
Image source, API've just drooled over my keyboard at the brilliance of Andres Iniesta. The Barca captain slaloms through the Ajax defence with the poise and balance of an Olympic skier, leaving him staring into the whites of Ajax keeper Jasper Cillessen's eyes. Iniesta clips towards the far corner, but the Dutch keeper stands tall to superbly deflect out for a corner.
Hurrah! Ajax move the ball into the Barcelona half. Teenager Ricardo Kishna is going nowhere down the left flank - until, that is, Gerard Pique sloppily allows him to wriggle clear as he tries to shepherd the ball out. But Pique recovers as a heavy touch from Kishna runs through to keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
John McEnerney:, external Barcelona looking more and more dangerous with every attack another before half-time and it's goodnight Ajax! Superior all over the park.
Joel Veltman is the first Ajax defender to lose his cool. He slides straight through the back of Neymar to earn the dubious honour of being the first name to go into referee William Collum's notebook.
Tom: You expect football hipsters to only recognise three Ajax players (see 19:43)? I must be obsessed by this game! Schone is the danger man in this team.
Almost three! Pedro pulls back his left peg like a catapult before slamming the ball against the foot of Ajax's right post. The Dutch side will already be asking the referee how long to go until the half-time oranges.
Lionel Messi is feeling the groove now. He nutmegs Davy Klaassen on the touchline, leaving his hapless Ajax opponent only able to dump him on to the turf.
That goal puts him two behind Raul now as the all-time Champions League top scorer. Only a fool would bet against him reaching that tonight. I'm certainly not.