Messi stars as Barcelona beat Chelsea
slide. Next thing I’m going to get is a trampoline.
‘‘It’s almost like I’m going to be a child again.’’
Parker said the hardest part about his training in the United States was time away from his family, though he makes daily Skype calls home.
‘‘I’m missing out on the growing up, taking first steps and all that,’’ Parker said.
‘‘It’s tough but I just keep reminding myself I’m doing all of this to give them a better future.’’
Parker admitted the arrival of his first child in November 2016 on the eve of his world title fight with Andy Ruiz, had changed him, turning him into a bit of a ‘‘softie’’.
‘‘I would die for my daughter, I love her that much,’’ he said.
‘‘But that being said, it hasn’t softened me in the boxing ring.
‘‘I’m still vicious and I still want to knock people out - only now I’m doing it all for my family.’’ Lionel Messi scored his 99th and 100th goals in the Champions League to send Barcelona through to the quarterfinals for the 11th straight season with a 3-0 win over Chelsea yesterday.
Barcelona advanced 4-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 first-leg draw in London.
Messi beat Thibaut Courtois with two strikes between the Chelsea goalkeeper’s legs from very tight angles on the side of the box. He struck the opener three minutes into the match and scored Barcelona’s third goal in the 63rd.
But the most dazzling moment from the Argentina forward came when he helped Ousmane Dembele score his first goal for Barcelona after he stole the ball from former Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas and darted past two would-be tacklers in the 20th.
Barcelona remained unbeaten in 25 straight Champions League matches at Camp Nou.
In other games, Bayern Munich won 3-1 at Besiktas to advance 8-1 on aggregate. Thiago Alcantara and Sandro Wagner scored for Bayern and Gokhan Gonul added an own goal.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde chose to start Dembele over midfielder Paulinho, who played the match in London which Chelsea largely dictated. The decision proved the right one when Messi linked up with the young winger to double the lead.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte looked to repeat the team’s relative success at frustrating Barcelona’s attack from the first leg with their back line of five defenders.
But Messi needed very little to poke a hole in Chelsea’s wall. Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer started an attack with a pass meant for Dembele that was twice deflected before Luis Suarez deftly flicked it back to Messi who targeted the only gap available: between the legs of Courtois.
After providing the second for Dembele, Messi made sure of the victory when he received a pass from Suarez and sped around a group of three defenders before humbling Courtois with a second strike between the legs.