Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi’s first ever four-goal haul saw holders Barcelona reach the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday in a 4-1 defeat of English side Arsenal in their quarter-final second leg clash to win 6-3 on aggregate.
The 22-year-old world player of the year — who went into the match with three hat-tricks already this year — destroyed Arsenal after Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner had briefly given the visitors hope with the opening goal.
Bendtner scored on the counter-attack after 18 minutes, but then Messi stole the show with a hat-trick before half-time and a late strike two minutes before the end with Arsenal already beaten.
PHOTO: AFP
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose Arsenal side had lost to Barcelona in the 2006 final, was gracious in defeat.
“Congratulations to Barcelona, they were the better side,” the thoughtful Frenchman said. “We lost to the better team and the best player in the world [Messi]. Over the two legs we gave away cheap goals, defensively we gave them the goals when they weren’t looking dangerous. But Messi — when he gets the ball — is unstoppable, he can change direction at any time.”
Wenger’s Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola paid a handsome tribute to Messi, but also reserved praise for the rest of the team especially the central defensive pairing of Mexican veteran Rafael Marquez and Gabriel Milito, who filled in for suspended first choice pair Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol.
“I would like to congratulate the team and the club,” the former Barcelona playmaker said. “It is the fourth semi-final in five years, the third in a row. Messi is a special player, on a different level. But Rafa [Marquez] played with a lot of intensity, Gaby [Milito] as well. Other players played really well even if they won’t grab the headlines in the newspapers.”
Messi for his part was typically humble.
“I am delighted with this victory,” said Messi, whose four goals took his total to 119 for Barcelona.
“However, we have to carry on our work. We have a really important match on Saturday. We have to win there even if it is just by one goal,” he said, referring to the match against Real Madrid who lead them in the title race on goal difference.
Following Arsenal’s dramatic come-back to finish 2-2 in the first leg, the return at the Nou Camp was eagerly awaited and the anticipation ahead of the game was in no way dampened by the number of key players absent.
The surprise news before kick-off was that Mikael Silvestre was chosen ahead of Sol Campbell to partner Thomas Vermaelen in defense, while for Barcelona as expected Bojan Krkic was given the nod to play in attack, ahead of former-Gunner hero Thierry Henry.
Arsenal took the lead in practically their first attack. Theo Walcott, such a danger for the Barca defense in the first-leg, burst clear down the right wing and crossed for Bendtner.
While the Dane’s shot was smothered at close range by keeper Victor Valdes, Bendtner was up first to slot the ball home.
The 98,000 capacity crowd was stunned into silence, but they needn’t have worried because in Messi they have a player with exceptional talent who rose to the occasion.
Just two minutes later with the Arsenal defense failing to clear their lines, the Argentine fired the ball past the outstretched arms of Manuel Almunia.
Messi had moved up a gear and put Barca into the lead after 36 minutes. Having been set up 12 yards out by Pedro Rodriguez, he slipped past Gael Clichy before scoring from close range.
It was almost a single-handed performance as Messi latched onto a header from Seydou Keita in midfield and through on goal clipped the ball over the keeper for the third.
Guardiola brought on Yaya Toure to strengthen the midfield, but their concentration on defense led to them taking their foot off the pedal.
Except for a shot soon after the break, Messi faded from the game and Arsenal had the majority of the better chances and actually had themselves to blame for not getting back in the game.
Bendtner was too often the culprit with his slow movement allowing Rafa Marquez to clear on one occasion and then he hit the post with a clear header from point blank range, although he was judged off side.
As the Barca defense dozed, Tomas Rosicky too stole in but blazed over the crossbar.
Messi, though, wrapped up his match-winning performance by tucking the ball past Almunia from a tight angle.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS