Champions League: Barca complete historic comeback to beat Milan
FC Barcelona thrashed AC Milan 4-0 yesterday in the second leg of their Champions League elimination clash, banishing the memory of the Spanish side's shocking 2-0 away loss in the first leg.
Barca were ahead at the Nou Camp in the fifth minute through Messi's brilliant curling effort and the Argentina forward, who has suffered rare criticism in recent weeks, levelled the tie on aggregate five minutes before halftime with a low drive.
Barcelona ruthlessly dominated, with Milan struggling to get the ball out of their own half for long periods, and David Villa struck a third 10 minutes after the break before Jordi Alba netted a breakaway goal in the second minute of added time.
"If there was anyone not sure about Messi then this was the perfect response as he took charge of the game with two goals and showed again that he is an extraordinary player, out of this world," Roura told reporters.
He added: "Before we weren't so poor and now we are not so great and I wouldn't describe ourselves as favorites for the competition."
It was hard not to feel sorry for AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri. He said: "For a matter of a few centimetres, maybe if Niang had scored, we would be here talking about a different game."
After we went 3-0 down we still tried to pressure them and we managed to create chances," he added.
"But when you are playing Barcelona and you have around five or seven opportunities to score you have to take them."
"Milan tonight played a worse match than the first leg and in the first half an hour they did not let us play."
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Schalke 04 2-3 Galatasaray (agg 3-4)
Galatasaray claimed a berth in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-2 away win on Tuesday over Germany's Schalke 04.
The clubs played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turkey and the visitors needed a goal in the 95th minute to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
Roman Neustaedter gave Schalke an early lead but Altintop pulled the Turkish side level in the 37th minute when he collected a free kick and scored with a shot which swerved away from Timo Hildebrand and went in off the foot of the post.
Burak Yilmaz stunned the hosts by putting Galatasaray ahead with a breakaway goal five minutes later, his eighth of the competition.
Michel Bastos levelled for Schalke 04 just after the hour but the Germans could not find the winner despite dominating the closing stages, with Umut Bulut snatching a win for Galatasaray in injury time.
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Barca were ahead at the Nou Camp in the fifth minute through Messi's brilliant curling effort and the Argentina forward, who has suffered rare criticism in recent weeks, levelled the tie on aggregate five minutes before halftime with a low drive.
Barcelona ruthlessly dominated, with Milan struggling to get the ball out of their own half for long periods, and David Villa struck a third 10 minutes after the break before Jordi Alba netted a breakaway goal in the second minute of added time.
"If there was anyone not sure about Messi then this was the perfect response as he took charge of the game with two goals and showed again that he is an extraordinary player, out of this world," Roura told reporters.
He added: "Before we weren't so poor and now we are not so great and I wouldn't describe ourselves as favorites for the competition."
It was hard not to feel sorry for AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri. He said: "For a matter of a few centimetres, maybe if Niang had scored, we would be here talking about a different game."
After we went 3-0 down we still tried to pressure them and we managed to create chances," he added.
"But when you are playing Barcelona and you have around five or seven opportunities to score you have to take them."
"Milan tonight played a worse match than the first leg and in the first half an hour they did not let us play."
Buy your Champions League 2013 tickets now!! Get Barcelona football tickets and Real Madrid tickets securely online!!
Schalke 04 2-3 Galatasaray (agg 3-4)
Galatasaray claimed a berth in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-2 away win on Tuesday over Germany's Schalke 04.
The clubs played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turkey and the visitors needed a goal in the 95th minute to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
Roman Neustaedter gave Schalke an early lead but Altintop pulled the Turkish side level in the 37th minute when he collected a free kick and scored with a shot which swerved away from Timo Hildebrand and went in off the foot of the post.
Burak Yilmaz stunned the hosts by putting Galatasaray ahead with a breakaway goal five minutes later, his eighth of the competition.
Michel Bastos levelled for Schalke 04 just after the hour but the Germans could not find the winner despite dominating the closing stages, with Umut Bulut snatching a win for Galatasaray in injury time.
About 1st4FootballTickets.com: Thousands of football tickets are on sale on Europe's biggest football ticketing website: We have English Premiership tickets such as Arsenal FC tickets, Newcastle United tickets and tickets for Liverpool. But also football cup tickets such as Europa League Tickets and FA Cup Final tickets.
