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Messi leads Barca into Champions League quarters
Source: Agencies |
March 9, 2011, Wednesday
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LIONEL Messi scored a record-setting two goals to help Barcelona beat Arsenal 3-1 yesterday and eliminate the defense-minded English side from the Champions League.
Arsenal clearly set out to protect its 2-1 advantage from the first leg, and did not have a shot on goal for the entire match, but that strategy unraveled when surprise selection Robin van Persie was sent off early in the second half in a contentious time-wasting decision.
The Spanish champions went through 4-3 on aggregate, knocking out Arsenal from the competition for the second straight season after their quarterfinal win last year.
Messi has now scored a club-record 33 goals in European competition, eclipsing Brazil striker Rivaldo's previous club record by two.
The Argentina forward made it 1-0 in first-half stoppage time at the Nou Camp, receiving a pass in the area from Andres Iniesta and flicking the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Manuel Almunia before dispatching it into the net.
That goal made it 2-2 on aggregate, but Arsenal's advantage was restored when Sergio Busquets put the ball into his own net in the 53rd minute.
Following van Persie's dismissal, Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez scored in the 69th minute to again lock the teams together on aggregate, before Messi's second-half penalty and competition-high eighth goal sealed the result.
"Again, Leo made the difference," said Xavi. "They didn't want to play, they wanted to defend. The sending-off affected things but it was just."
The turning point came when van Persie - back in the Arsenal side sooner than expected after injury - was shown a second yellow card. Swiss referee Massimo Busacca judged the Dutch striker had kicked the ball away to waste time after play had been stopped for an offside call. Van Persie was livid, indicating he hadn't heard the whistle due to the noise from the 95,000-plus crowd.
"I cannot understand that view from the ref," Van Persie said. "If there were four, five, six seconds in between, you can make a check (for offside). One second? It's a joke.
"He's been bad all evening, whistling against us. I don't know why he's here tonight. We feel betrayed a bit, when it was 1-1 it was all to play for, and in my opinion this referee killed the game."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was also outraged.
"I just spoke to UEFA people and they are shocked as well," Wenger said. "You promise a fantastic football match, but what for? How he did it, frankly it's embarrassing for the game."
Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola said the Arsenal manager had one request after the match.
"Wenger told me to congratulate the referee," he said.
The referee aside, Arsenal contributed to its own defeat. Captain Cesc Fabregas gave the ball away near his own box in the buildup to the opening goal, and Iniesta scooped a perfect ball between defenders to set Messi free.
"I take full blame for the result tonight," Fabregas said on Twitter. "One of the worst moments of my life. I apologize."
Fabregas had returned only 13 days after injuring his hamstring and said afterward that after 15 minutes he was already bothered. Van Persie, meanwhile, was back after nine days sidelined with a knee problem and was first booked for barging into Dani Alves toward the end of the first half as tempers flared.
Barcelona's regular defensive pairing Carlos Puyol (knee) and Gerard Pique (suspension) were missing, so Eric Abidal and Busquets were paired as center backs. But the two were rarely tested as the Spanish champions dominated possession through slick, one-touch passing.
"The reality is that (Arsenal) were not able to string together three consecutive passes and they were not able to shoot once on goal," Guardiola said.
Backup Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia came on in the 19th to replace Wojciech Szczesny, who dislocated a finger, and the Spaniard denied David Villa three times before Xavi made it 2-1 and 3-3 overall in the 69th minute.
Villa guided Iniesta's short pass into the path of Xavi as he ran into the area, the Spain midfielder firing a shot that took a deflection off an Arsenal player before going into the net.
Led by Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, Barcelona continued to string together numerous short passes and create chances against a backpedalling Arsenal team struggling to repel the constant wave of attacks.
The winning goals came after Xavi played in Pedro Rodriguez, who was tripped inside the area by Laurent Koscielny. Messi converted the resulting penalty in the 71st to take his total against Arsenal to six goals from four games with Almunia on the receiving end of all.
Barcelona wasted several more chances - the hosts had 19 shots for the match - before Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner had a late opportunity to put his team through on away goals, but Javier Mascherano got back to tackle him in the box.
"We lost against a very good Barcelona side," Wenger said. "But we have many regrets tonight because we didn't expect to lose the game like that."
Defeat meant Arsenal was running out of ways to end its trophy drought. Having also surprisingly lost the English League Cup final, Arsenal will now turn its attention to a tight battle with Manchester United for the Premier League title and also has the FA Cup to compete for as it seeks its first silverware since 2005.
Barcelona remains on course for a Champions League and Spanish league double, as it leads arch rival Real Madrid comfortably in the La Liga standings.
Arsenal clearly set out to protect its 2-1 advantage from the first leg, and did not have a shot on goal for the entire match, but that strategy unraveled when surprise selection Robin van Persie was sent off early in the second half in a contentious time-wasting decision.
The Spanish champions went through 4-3 on aggregate, knocking out Arsenal from the competition for the second straight season after their quarterfinal win last year.
Messi has now scored a club-record 33 goals in European competition, eclipsing Brazil striker Rivaldo's previous club record by two.
The Argentina forward made it 1-0 in first-half stoppage time at the Nou Camp, receiving a pass in the area from Andres Iniesta and flicking the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Manuel Almunia before dispatching it into the net.
That goal made it 2-2 on aggregate, but Arsenal's advantage was restored when Sergio Busquets put the ball into his own net in the 53rd minute.
Following van Persie's dismissal, Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez scored in the 69th minute to again lock the teams together on aggregate, before Messi's second-half penalty and competition-high eighth goal sealed the result.
"Again, Leo made the difference," said Xavi. "They didn't want to play, they wanted to defend. The sending-off affected things but it was just."
The turning point came when van Persie - back in the Arsenal side sooner than expected after injury - was shown a second yellow card. Swiss referee Massimo Busacca judged the Dutch striker had kicked the ball away to waste time after play had been stopped for an offside call. Van Persie was livid, indicating he hadn't heard the whistle due to the noise from the 95,000-plus crowd.
"I cannot understand that view from the ref," Van Persie said. "If there were four, five, six seconds in between, you can make a check (for offside). One second? It's a joke.
"He's been bad all evening, whistling against us. I don't know why he's here tonight. We feel betrayed a bit, when it was 1-1 it was all to play for, and in my opinion this referee killed the game."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was also outraged.
"I just spoke to UEFA people and they are shocked as well," Wenger said. "You promise a fantastic football match, but what for? How he did it, frankly it's embarrassing for the game."
Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola said the Arsenal manager had one request after the match.
"Wenger told me to congratulate the referee," he said.
The referee aside, Arsenal contributed to its own defeat. Captain Cesc Fabregas gave the ball away near his own box in the buildup to the opening goal, and Iniesta scooped a perfect ball between defenders to set Messi free.
"I take full blame for the result tonight," Fabregas said on Twitter. "One of the worst moments of my life. I apologize."
Fabregas had returned only 13 days after injuring his hamstring and said afterward that after 15 minutes he was already bothered. Van Persie, meanwhile, was back after nine days sidelined with a knee problem and was first booked for barging into Dani Alves toward the end of the first half as tempers flared.
Barcelona's regular defensive pairing Carlos Puyol (knee) and Gerard Pique (suspension) were missing, so Eric Abidal and Busquets were paired as center backs. But the two were rarely tested as the Spanish champions dominated possession through slick, one-touch passing.
"The reality is that (Arsenal) were not able to string together three consecutive passes and they were not able to shoot once on goal," Guardiola said.
Backup Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia came on in the 19th to replace Wojciech Szczesny, who dislocated a finger, and the Spaniard denied David Villa three times before Xavi made it 2-1 and 3-3 overall in the 69th minute.
Villa guided Iniesta's short pass into the path of Xavi as he ran into the area, the Spain midfielder firing a shot that took a deflection off an Arsenal player before going into the net.
Led by Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, Barcelona continued to string together numerous short passes and create chances against a backpedalling Arsenal team struggling to repel the constant wave of attacks.
The winning goals came after Xavi played in Pedro Rodriguez, who was tripped inside the area by Laurent Koscielny. Messi converted the resulting penalty in the 71st to take his total against Arsenal to six goals from four games with Almunia on the receiving end of all.
Barcelona wasted several more chances - the hosts had 19 shots for the match - before Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner had a late opportunity to put his team through on away goals, but Javier Mascherano got back to tackle him in the box.
"We lost against a very good Barcelona side," Wenger said. "But we have many regrets tonight because we didn't expect to lose the game like that."
Defeat meant Arsenal was running out of ways to end its trophy drought. Having also surprisingly lost the English League Cup final, Arsenal will now turn its attention to a tight battle with Manchester United for the Premier League title and also has the FA Cup to compete for as it seeks its first silverware since 2005.
Barcelona remains on course for a Champions League and Spanish league double, as it leads arch rival Real Madrid comfortably in the La Liga standings.
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