Masterful Messi’s double sinks Arsenal
BARCELONA’S Lionel Messi broke free from Arsenal’s shackles to score two late goals and put the Champions League holders on the brink of the quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.
The irrepressible Argentinian, along with strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar, had been subdued for most of the last 16, first-leg tie but came alive late on, clinically finishing off a lightning counter-attack and then dispatching a penalty.
“They are 95% through to the quarter-finals certainly,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side had defended solidly for 71 minutes until crumbling.
“It’s a shame we didn’t get any satisfaction because we put everything into it.”
“I felt there was room to beat them tonight, that is the biggest regret I have,” he said.
“We felt we could win it and lost our cautiousness to defend. Especially as we knew it was vital not to give them a counterattack, which is when they are most dangerous.”
Luis Enrique’s Barca side extended their unbeaten run to 33 matches and, barring something extraordinary in the return at the Nou Camp next month, will take their place in the last eight for the ninth season in a row.
“I liked everything we did tonight,” the Spaniard said.
Messi has proved a thorn in Arsenal’s side on each of the last two occasions the teams have met in the Champions League.
In 2010 he scored four times in the last 16 second leg to send Barcelona through and a year later he struck twice in a 3-1 win in Spain after Arsenal had edged the first leg.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar had scored 91 goals in all competitions this season heading into yesterday’s game, but none of the feared trident managed an effort on target in the first half as Arsenal’s fans cranked up the decibel levels.
Arsenal were patient and should have gone ahead midway through the first half when Hector Bellerin’s scuffed shot fell for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but he scooped his effort straight into the arms of keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The Catalans began to move through the gears though and either side of halftime wasted two glorious chances.
Suarez, who has 41 goals in all competitions this term, headed Dani Alves’s dinked cross wide with the goal gaping before Neymar was denied by goalkeeper Petr Cech after being played in by Andres Iniesta.
Starved of the ball for long periods, Arsenal still posed a threat and Ter Stegen did well to keep out Olivier Giroud’s close-range header from a Mesut Oezil cross.
Arsenal grew in belief but it cost them dear as they committed players forward and got stung on the break.
With 19 minutes left they lost the ball near Barcelona’s goal and Suarez and Neymar combined in devastating fashion, the Brazilian unselfishly picking out Messi who steadied himself before beating Cech for the first time in his career.
Suarez then hit the post when he should have scored before Messi scored again, this time with a calmly struck penalty after substitute Mathieu Flamini had tripped him. – Reuters HOME is not really where the heart is for Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United.
Striving for much better results on their own turf is a major priority for both clubs as they seek a rare top-eight finish and an escape from relegation in the Absa Premiership respectively.
Their fans may not be surprised that Arrows coach, Clinton Larsen, and Maritzburg’s management have mentioned the subject in the wake of their teams’ morale-boosting results on the road at the weekend.
That featured Larsen’s ninth-placed men holding logleading Sundowns to a goalless draw in Pretoria and the basement-dwelling “Team of Choice” edging Celtic in Bloemfontein for only their second win of the 2015/16 league campaign.
Larsen’s team, which will host Platinum Stars at Chatsworth on Sunday, have won just three of their nine home matches, requiring the young coach to urge his players “to try to relax more” for the six home games they have left.
“We have just taken four points from two away matches in a row, which is a good return. But it is true that we need to do much better at home. The problem is the players tend to feel pressure to play that special brand of football that Arrows have been known for in home games, and that’s where mistakes come in.
“So, we have asked the players to try to relax more and enjoy the game more, and results will come. After those four points against Polokwane City and Sundowns on the road over the past two weekends, we hope to have a long run of good results to help us finish in the top eight,” said Larsen yesterday.
The former Rangers and Pirates midfielder has all but defensive midfielder, Nkanyiso Cele, available for Sunday’s clash with Platinum, which have done well to sit in the top five of the standings.
Of course, Larsen and his players will first be cheering for their reserve team on Saturday when they look to secure the MultiChoice Diski Challenge crown in a game against Free State Stars at the Nike Centre in Soweto.
There is a possibility of Larsen again allowing strikers, Mabhudi Khenyeza and Ryan Chapman, to play for coach Vusi Vilakazi’s reserves, who sit a point clear in the “MDC” standings with just this week’s game remaining.
Maritzburg, meanwhile, have done even worse than Arrows in KwaZulu-Natal and will be mighty desperate for their first home win of the league campaign when they tackle title-hunting Wits at Harry Gwala Stadium in one of three matches taking place tonight.
Coach Ernst Middendorp will, clearly, be looking to build on Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Celtic, although his Midlands club have posted just one win over the Students in their last 10 meetings.
An unexpected win over Daine Klate, Elias Pelembe and company from Johannesburg would lift Middendorp’s side two points above Pretoria University and within two points of Jomo Cosmos in the bottom three of the standings with 10 matches remaining. In that event, Maritzburg fans would fear relegation much less, considering their team do show good composure at times.
Tonight also sees Sundowns host Black Aces in a revenge game in the Jacaranda City, while Free State Stars entertain rejuvenated Ajax.
Sundowns have gone 16 games unbeaten in the league since they lost to Aces and Arrows in consecutive matches in the first round.
Sharp shooters
AS FAR as the Premiership’s sharp shooters go, Aces hitman Collins Mbesuma remains at the top of the chart with 12 goals and is followed by Ajax’s Prince Nxumalo on 10. Nxumalo’s output is remarkable because he missed part of the season through illness.
Going into the midweek matches, Sundowns star Khama Billiat and Polokwane City’s Thobani Mncwango had eight goals apiece in joint third place. On the KZN scene, Zimbabwean striker Evans Rusike is the top Maritzburg goal-getter on five, while Arrows have three midfielders on three goals each – Gladwin Shitolo, Deon Hotto and Kudakwashe Mahachi.