Barcelona see off Las Palmas at empty Camp Nou

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Barcelona scored three second-half goals as they overcame the surreal experience of playing in front of an empty Camp Nou to continue their perfect La Liga start with a 3-0 win over Las Palmas.

The game was played behind closed doors after there had been calls for it to be suspended due to the situation in Catalonia on Sunday.

There had been tension across the region throughout the morning as Spanish police attempted to shut down various polling stations for a referendum, deemed illegal by the Spanish government, on independence.

The first half had been an even affair, with Las Palmas close to breaking though as the half-hour approached when Oussama Tannane's dangerous pass was cut out by Sergi Roberto with players waiting to tap home.

Barca came closer still when Lionel Messi was crowded out after a typical jinking run, but Messi provided the corner from which Sergio Busquets provided the opener after 49 minutes.

The home side took a grip on the match from the moment of that breakthrough and doubled their lead after 70 minutes when Messi waltzed around goalkeeper Leandro Chichizola.

The third goal arrived when Messi struck again with 13 minutes to play, this time latching on to a Luis Suarez pass and finding another decisive finish to crown a slick move and make it seven wins from seven games.