Barcelona striker Luis Suarez hailed the performance of captain Lionel Messi on his return to the starting line-up in the 6-1 defeat of Roma at Camp Nou.

Both players scored twice on Tuesday as their strikes along with efforts from Gerard Pique and Adriano saw the European champions emphatically seal first place in Champions League Group E.

Messi had made his return after two months out injured by coming off the bench in El Clasico against Real Madrid on Saturday and Suarez was thrilled to see him step up his comeback against Roma.

After being named from the start as skipper with Andres Iniesta rested, the Argentine could have had three goals in the opening 10 minutes as he made a flying start to the contest.

"Messi is the best in the world and I am happy for him, for his goals and the fact he was able to play a full game on his return," Suarez told UEFA.

"All players who come in have to do what is expected of them. We played a perfect game, very complete, but there were spaces in the first half.

"Leo, Neymar and I are happy for the team and happy to play for the side."

Barcelona face a trip to Germany to play Bayer Leverkusen in their final group match.