Panathinaikos was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League as FC Barcelona recorded a convincing 3-0 win against the Greek side in Athens on Thursday.

We were better in the first 45 minutes. Of course, Barcelona had more possession – that’s their trademark.

The Catalans cruised into the round of 16 as Group D winners while PAO will have to turn its attention back to the Greek Super League.

After Djibril Cisse missed an early chance for PAO, Pedro Rodriguez broke the deadlock in the 27th minute of a game the visitors dominated.

Further goals in the second half from Lionel Messi, who scored for the tenth game in succession for club and country, and Pedro, coupled with FC Kobenhavn’s 1-0 loss at FC Rubin Kazan, means Barcelona cannot be caught and PAO are now out of Europe regardless of what happens on Matchday 6.

Looking to lift themselves off the foot of the section on new coach Jesualdo Ferreira’s debut, the Greek outfit seemed content to watch their opponents weave their entrancing passing patterns in front of them and wait for a chance on the counter.

And it was newly appointed captain Cisse who could have put them ahead when he was sent clear by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos’s superb pass, but the Frenchman was denied by a smart save from Victor Valdes.

Not to be outdone, home goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas then tipped a vicious Adriano shot over the crossbar as Barca sought to step up a gear.

They continued to press and the home team’s diligent rearguard was finally undone by Daniel Alves, who threaded a neat pass through for Pedro to accelerate into the penalty area and beat Tzorvas via a clinical right-footed finish.

The visitors were controlling more than 70% of possession, and Tzorvas was called into action twice in the space of a minute before half-time to save from Pedro and David Villa.

The Greens’ goalkeeper continued to do his best to thwart Barcelona and Adriano in particular after half-time, acrobatically palming away two powerful shots from the Barca left-back.

But he could do nothing to deny the visitors two minutes beyond the hour mark as Andres Iniesta played a reverse pass to Adriano, who squared for Messi to double the lead.

Iniesta was again involved in Pedro’s second goal, his left-wing cross following a clever Alves chip being slotted in from close range to seal an impressive win.

New PAO head coach Jesualdo Ferreira says he now has a “clearer picture” of what he has to work with at the Athens club after presiding over his first match.

Opposite number Josep Guardiola, meanwhile, was pleased to have settled matters in UEFA Champions League Group D with one match still to play.

“Now I have a clearer picture of our abilities, of the players who got to play tonight,” said Ferreira.

“We were better in the first 45 minutes. Of course, Barcelona had more possession – that’s their trademark.

“They created many chances to score, but we also got close to scoring, especially though Djibril Cisse.

“My team showed some good qualities, their ability to close space and play together. We encountered problems on the counterattack, but we should give credit to a great team like Barcelona.