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Barcelona, Inter win to set up semifinal
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2010, Wednesday
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BARCELONA winger Lionel Messi hit four goals past Arsenal as the holders stormed into the Champions League semifinals and a meeting with Inter Milan after the Italian champions ousted CSKA Moscow yesterday.
While Inter's 2-0 aggregate victory over CSKA clinched a first semifinal appearance in seven years, Barcelona is in the last four for the third consecutive season after beating Arsenal 6-3 over the two legs.
"I would have preferred to have another rival - another opponent," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. "But this is the team we play."
Barcelona had been stunned by injury-depleted Arsenal in the 19th minute at the Nou Camp when Nicklas Bendtner gave the English Premier League title contender a 3-2 aggregate lead.
But Messi responded with a hat trick before halftime and a fourth in the closing minutes to send Barcelona through.
"I hope I can keep this up," Messi said. "I think this team is making history like we did last year. It's all in our hands."
Arsenal had started out more positively than at Emirates Stadium last week when its goal was blitzed by Barcelona, although the first leg ended 2-2.
Arsenal's plan was to pounce on the counterattack while hoping for errors by Gabriel Milito, who was starting a European match for the first time in nearly two years.
The strategy paid off after Samir Nasri poked free from Milito and Abou Diaby released Theo Walcott, who in turn passed to Bendtner.
Although Daniel Alves managed to disrupt Bendtner's initial shot, which was stopped by goalkeeper Victor Valdes, the striker was up quickly to stab home his rebound.
Arsenal's lead was short-lived as Messi took advantage of an error by Mikael Silvestre, who played Messi's poor pass right back to him on the edge of the area. Messi continued his run before curling into the top corner in the 21st.
Messi started the move that led to Barcelona's second in the 37th. Having been fed by Messi, Eric Abidal's low cross was blocked, but only as far as Pedro, who knocked the loose ball to Messi to clip over Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
The Spanish champions were in complete control and Messi raced onto Seydou Keita's headed pass and flicked the ball again over Almunia in the 42nd to reach his hat trick.
Messi capped his spectacular performance in the 88th by shooting through Almunia's legs after his initial shot was parried to score his fourth of the night.
"He's the best player I've ever faced and he's the best player in the world," Almunia said. "It's very difficult to stop someone who has so many skills like that, who can do whatever they want with the ball."
Barcelona's next obstacle in its bid to become the first team to defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990 is a familiar face: Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese boss of Inter Milan was coach Bobby Robson's translator at Barcelona in the 1990s before turning to management himself.
"Whatever happens in the semifinal or the final, Inter will be full of confidence going into next season's Champions League," Mourinho said. "If we don't win it this year, Inter will win it in the next few years."
But Mourinho's Inter side couldn't match Barcelona's ruthless display as it produced a more mundane victory in Moscow.
Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Wesley Sneijder doubled Inter's advantage in the 6th by firing a low free kick through the wall which glanced off CSKA midfielder Keisuke Honda and beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
"True, maybe it wasn't the most exciting game, but the real prize was reaching the semifinals," Mourinho said. "There were 500 Inter fans here in Moscow and our job was to make the semifinals, not put on a show, and that's what we did."
CSKA defender Chidi Odiah was sent off four minutes into the second half after receiving a second yellow card for fouling Samuel Eto'o.
Today, Manchester United, which lost to Barcelona in last season's final, is trying to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Bayern Munich, while Lyon takes a 3-1 advantage to Bordeaux in an all-French quarterfinal.
While Inter's 2-0 aggregate victory over CSKA clinched a first semifinal appearance in seven years, Barcelona is in the last four for the third consecutive season after beating Arsenal 6-3 over the two legs.
"I would have preferred to have another rival - another opponent," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. "But this is the team we play."
Barcelona had been stunned by injury-depleted Arsenal in the 19th minute at the Nou Camp when Nicklas Bendtner gave the English Premier League title contender a 3-2 aggregate lead.
But Messi responded with a hat trick before halftime and a fourth in the closing minutes to send Barcelona through.
"I hope I can keep this up," Messi said. "I think this team is making history like we did last year. It's all in our hands."
Arsenal had started out more positively than at Emirates Stadium last week when its goal was blitzed by Barcelona, although the first leg ended 2-2.
Arsenal's plan was to pounce on the counterattack while hoping for errors by Gabriel Milito, who was starting a European match for the first time in nearly two years.
The strategy paid off after Samir Nasri poked free from Milito and Abou Diaby released Theo Walcott, who in turn passed to Bendtner.
Although Daniel Alves managed to disrupt Bendtner's initial shot, which was stopped by goalkeeper Victor Valdes, the striker was up quickly to stab home his rebound.
Arsenal's lead was short-lived as Messi took advantage of an error by Mikael Silvestre, who played Messi's poor pass right back to him on the edge of the area. Messi continued his run before curling into the top corner in the 21st.
Messi started the move that led to Barcelona's second in the 37th. Having been fed by Messi, Eric Abidal's low cross was blocked, but only as far as Pedro, who knocked the loose ball to Messi to clip over Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
The Spanish champions were in complete control and Messi raced onto Seydou Keita's headed pass and flicked the ball again over Almunia in the 42nd to reach his hat trick.
Messi capped his spectacular performance in the 88th by shooting through Almunia's legs after his initial shot was parried to score his fourth of the night.
"He's the best player I've ever faced and he's the best player in the world," Almunia said. "It's very difficult to stop someone who has so many skills like that, who can do whatever they want with the ball."
Barcelona's next obstacle in its bid to become the first team to defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990 is a familiar face: Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese boss of Inter Milan was coach Bobby Robson's translator at Barcelona in the 1990s before turning to management himself.
"Whatever happens in the semifinal or the final, Inter will be full of confidence going into next season's Champions League," Mourinho said. "If we don't win it this year, Inter will win it in the next few years."
But Mourinho's Inter side couldn't match Barcelona's ruthless display as it produced a more mundane victory in Moscow.
Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Wesley Sneijder doubled Inter's advantage in the 6th by firing a low free kick through the wall which glanced off CSKA midfielder Keisuke Honda and beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
"True, maybe it wasn't the most exciting game, but the real prize was reaching the semifinals," Mourinho said. "There were 500 Inter fans here in Moscow and our job was to make the semifinals, not put on a show, and that's what we did."
CSKA defender Chidi Odiah was sent off four minutes into the second half after receiving a second yellow card for fouling Samuel Eto'o.
Today, Manchester United, which lost to Barcelona in last season's final, is trying to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Bayern Munich, while Lyon takes a 3-1 advantage to Bordeaux in an all-French quarterfinal.
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