BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Neymar scored his first Barcelona hat-trick as the Catalans secured top spot in Group H of the Champions League with a 6-1 thrashing of Celtic at the Camp Nou yesterday.

Gerard Pique got the hosts off to the perfect start when he slammed home from close range after Celtic keeper Fraser Forster had done well to deny Alexis Sanchez.

Neymar then produced a magical piece of skill to ghost past Efe Ambrose to set up Pedro for the second and rounded off a fine team move with the simplest of finishes to make it 3-0 a minute before half-time.

The Brazilian striker then added a brilliant fourth with a curling finish after a one-two with Xavi before completing his hat-trick with an individual effort 10 minutes later.

Cristian Tello made it 6-0 with a deflected strike 18 minutes from time before Georgious Samaras pulled one back for the Scottish champions.

Despite being already assured of a place in the last 16, Barca boss Gerardo Martino sent out the message that he didn’t want a repeat of the lacklustre performance that saw the Catalans beaten 2-1 away to Ajax in their last Champions League outing as he named a strong side.

Barca could even have gone in front inside three minutes as only a last-ditch challenge from Virgil Van Dijk prevented Xavi from having a clear sight of goal.

Meanwhile, Demba Ba scored a rare goal as Chelsea advanced in the Champions League as group winners with a 1-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest.

Chelsea had wrapped up qualification last month despite losing at Basel, who also won their Group E opener in September.

By securing top spot ahead of Schalke, Chelsea will play one of the group runners-up in the round of 16.

Ten-man Arsenal advanced to the Champions League knockout phase for the 14th consecutive year despite a 2-0 loss at Napoli, who were eliminated.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Mikel Arteta picked up his second yellow card in the 76th.