Messi’s pair fuels Barca comeback over Milan
BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi scored a brilliant pair of goals to help Barcelona beat AC Milan 4- 0 and complete a historic comeback that took his side into the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Barcelona won 4- 2 on aggregate after a spectacular second leg in the round of 16, entering the record books as the first team to turn around a 2- 0 first- leg away loss in the competition.
Barcelona was joined in the quarters by Galatasaray, which beat Schalke 3- 2 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Substitute Umut Bulut scored the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, though Galatasaray was already through with a 2- 2 draw on the away goals rule.
“We took the game under control in the first half,” said Galatasaray’s Hamit Altintop, who scored with a
long- range shot against his former team. “Both matches were close, though, and both sides had their chances. We were the luckier team.”
At Barcelona, Messi struck with another left- footed strike in the 40th to level the contest over two legs. And Barcelona’s relentless pressure paid off in the 55th minute, when David Villa netted the decisive goal before Jordi Alba added a fourth in stoppage time.
“We went out gunning from the start and scoring early helped us,” said Villa. “We have believed in the comeback ever since we lost in Milan, and belief combined with hard work is how you achieve things.”
Barcelona reached the quarterfinals for a sixth straight season and kept alive its bid for a fourth title in eight years.
And Messi made sure they did so in style with his 52nd and 53rd goals of the season.
The four- time world player of the year moved past Ruud van Nistelrooy ( 56) into sole possession of
second place on the Champions League career scoring list with 58 goals at just 25 years old, trailing only Raul Gonzalez’s 71.
The sluggish Barcelona from the loss at San Siro three weeks ago and the side which suffered two recent defeats to fierce rival Real Madrid was nowhere to be seen at Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
Barcelona put on another breathtaking display, the kind that has led it to 14 titles since 2008. It went forward with orchestrated precision both in its passing and shot taking and defended tenaciously, asphyxiating Milan’s attack before it could ever get started.
“Milan only needed a goal, but we knew how to handle the game very well,” said Alba. “This is a very important win for us.”
Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura, who has been in charge since January with manager Tito Vilanova in New York treating a throat tumour, made two changes to the starting 11 that lost in Italy. Villa
replaced Cesc Fabregas, giving the team the same front three with Messi and Pedro Rodriguez from the 2011 final win over Manchester United.
Villa’s inclusion moved Andres Iniesta back into midfield alongside Xavi Hernandez, who returned from a leg injury he picked at Milan. Javier Mascherano replaced captain Carles Puyol in defence.
Messi had already pulled one goal back for Barcelona before Milan was even able to get the ball, much less string two passes together.
Barcelona scored early through an exquisite flurry of one- touch passes that had eluded it in recent matches. Messi received Sergio Busquets’ pass outside the area, laid the ball off for Xavi, who slid it back for Messi to unleashed an unstoppable curling strike that left goalkeeper Christian Abbiati helpless as it ripped into the top left corner of his net.