Messi goals lift Barca over Arsenal, Bayern and Juventus draw
LONDON— Barcelona’s strike force proved too hot for Arsenal to handle as Lionel Messi scored both goals for the titleholders in a convincing 2-0 victory in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Messi provided a clinical finish to a breakaway move that featured strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar in the 71st minute, and then scored an 83rd minute penalty to seal a tense first-leg match at Emirates Stadium.
The five-time world player of the year decided a game that Barcelona had dominated, even without taking all the chances that came the way of its prolific forward line.
Arsenal created opportunities in both halves, but was mainly engaged in a damage limitation exercise against a side that the club’s own manager Arsene Wenger described before the game as “super favourites.”
It’s a tag that Barcelona certainly has now.
With two away goals and home advantage to come, Barcelona will be confident of reaching the quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive season after the second leg on March 16 at the Nou Camp.
“I liked everything about Barcelona today, everything from the very beginning,” the Catalan club’s coach Luis Enrique said.
“My players individually performed perfectly and I think we are deserved winners of this game. The score is very good, but nothing is decided yet. We will have to play really well in front of our crowd in order to be in the next round.”
Barcelona had beaten Arsenal in both their previous meetings in the knockout stages, in 2010 and 2011, along with the 2006 final in Paris. Its second-half performance on Tuesday, which combined possession with dangerous counterattacks, was a potent reminder of that track record — and another source of frustration for Wenger.
“They are better than us, and I believe everybody knows that. But I think we could have won the game tonight if we had kept the discipline until the end,” said the Frenchman. “Barcelona masters all aspects of the game, and as soon as you’re in a bad position with one or two players you can get punished.”
Wenger accepted that his side’s chance of advancing hung by a thread, but he said he does not plan to field a weakened side in Spain.
“Barcelona is through at 95 per cent certainly, but we want to go there and play,” he said. “We are Arsenal football club.”
Bayern Munich 2, Juventus 2
Juventus came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 match in Turin, Italy, on Tuesday.
Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben scored either side of halftime for Bayern but Paulo Dybala reduced the deficit with his first Champions League goal shortly after the hour.
That seemed to inspire Juventus, which almost levelled shortly afterward, before substitute Stefano Sturaro grabbed the equalizer 14 minutes from time.
“We need to build on the second half in which the lads played brilliantly,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “We need to improve from the first half but don’t forget that Bayern is a great team, you just need to see how they pass the ball. And we didn’t give them too many chances.”
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was mainly a spectator in the first period, when he was often the only player in his half, cutting a lonely figure as far up the pitch as around the centre circle.
“It was a good Champions League match between two great teams,” said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. “We had a really great performance. We can’t forget who we played against: last year’s finalists, champions of Italy the past four years, just won 15 games in a row . . . I’m a bit disappointed by how we played not to have won but that’s football.”