Messi helps Barcelona thrash Lyon 5-1
BARCELONA: Lionel Messi lead the way with two goals and two assists as Barcelona reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in style by thrashing Olympique Lyonnais 5-1 at home on Wednesday and advancing by the same scoreline on aggregate.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a “Panenka” penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
Suarez then rounded Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes to lay on a perfect pass for the unmarked Philippe Coutinho to nudge into an open net and double Barca’s lead, although Lyon hauled themselves back into contention with a second-half strike from Lucas Tousart.
Messi soon killed off any hopes of an unlikely comeback from the French side, however, carving his way through the defence to score in the 78th minute before toying with Lyon’s back line twice more and laying off passes for Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele to complete the rout.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde had warned his side of complacency after Paris St Germain and Real Madrid’s surprise exits, and his words carried more weight after Atletico Madrid were knocked out by Juventus despite a 2-0 first leg win.
His side were in a more vulnerable position as a draw would have sent them out, and they began the game as if they meant business, with Messi firing an early shot which Lopes had to beat away for a corner.
Lyon’s Lopes had to be taken off injured later in the first half, leaving the field in tears after tak- ing a blow to the face, with Mathieu Gorgelin replacing him and making his Champions League debut.
Barca looked unsettled for a brief period after Tousart’s goal had put Lyon one goal away from knocking the Catalans out, and the home side defended with an air of panic.
But they reached the last eight of Europe’s elite competition for the 12th consecutive season and will be Spain’s only representatives in the quarter-final draw.
DEMBELE OUT FOR UP TO A MONTH, SAY BARCA
BARCELONA: Ousmane Dembele could miss Barcelona’s crunch La Liga game against Atletico Madrid after the club said on Thursday he will be out for up to a month with a hamstring injury.
Dembele is likely to miss upcoming league matches against Real Betis, Espanyol and Villarreal while he has just under four weeks to recover in time for the meeting with Atletico on April 6. The game at the Camp Nou could prove decisive for Barcelona, who already sit seven points clear of Diego Simeone’s side, their closest challengers at the top of the table.
Dembele appears to have suffered a recurrence of the hamstring strain he sustained during the win over Rayo Vallecano last weekend. “The tests performed have confirmed that Dembele has a muscle injury in his left hamstring,” a Barcelona statement read. “The approximate time out will be three to four weeks.”
The Frenchman was not deemed fit enough to start against Lyon but he was risked for the last 20 minutes as the visitors threatened a comeback.
Dembele finished off the 5-1 victory with a goal, latching onto Lionel Messi’s pass to confirm Barcelona’s place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.