Barcelona just Messin’ around
MAJESTIC: MESSI PLAYS A PART IN ALL THREE GOALS
Bayern made to sweat over Thiago’s foot injury picked up in 3-1 second-leg win.
Barcelona
Lionel Messi scored two brilliant goals and created another for Ousmane Dembele as Barcelona thrashed Chelsea 3-0 last night to reach the Champions League quarterfinals 4-1 on aggregate.
Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ball through Thibaut Courtois’ legs from a tight angle.
The Argentine forward created the second with a blistering run from the halfway line which left three Chelsea defenders stumbling in his wake, before squaring the ball for Ousmane Dembele to rifle home his first goal for the club.
Marcos Alonso hit the post and Olivier Giroud was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty for a tangle with Gerard Pique as Chelsea tried to launch a comeback, before Messi killed the tie with his 100th Champions League goal.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, are waiting on Thiago Alcantara after the Spain midfielder picked up a new injury in their last 16 win at Besiktas.
The 26-year-old went off on 35 minutes after scoring Bayern’s opening goal in the 3-1 second-leg win as the German giants sealed an 8-1 aggregate victory and booked a quarterfinal slot for the seventh year in a row.
However, Thiago’s injury dampened the celebrations ahead of tough Bundesliga games against RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in the coming weeks.
“Thiago didn’t come off as a precautionary measure,” admitted Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.
“He said he felt a pain on the sole of his foot, but the first assessment is not that bad.”
Bayern hope a scan on Thiago’s foot will not mean another lengthy lay-off after he missed 13 games up until mid-February with a leg injury.
For Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti in October, this was his 11th straight win in the Champions League which set a new competition record.
“It was a convincing result,” said Heynckes. “Besiktas hadn’t lost here in the Champions League, so it wasn’t easy.
“We scored at the right times and it’s normal that we dropped off a little – losing some focus after winning 5-0 is just human. – Reuters
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