BARCELONA (AFP) - Lionel Messi pounced on two Manchester United mistakes to score twice and end their hopes of another Camp Nou comeback as Barcelona breezed into the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday (April 16).
After an excellent start, United were undone twice in four minutes by Messi, who first nicked the ball off the careless Ashley Young and then watched as a weak shot from distance squirmed underneath David de Gea.
Philippe Coutinho, in perhaps his best performance of the season, added a third with a curling effort into the top corner and by the end, an outclassed United might have been relieved the score was not more traumatic than 3-0, 4-0 on aggregate.
A dizzying opening spell, in which Marcus Rashford had hit the crossbar, was long-forgotten, even if it could offer Barcelona's next opponents some encouragement.
Liverpool, who take a 2-0 lead to Porto on Wednesday, are the most likely obstacle between Barca and their first Champions League final since they last won this tournament in 2015. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane might feel encouraged.
Instead, United's pair of early errors made this another night about Messi and ensured any faint hopes of repeating the comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, or even the famous 1999 rescue act against Bayern Munich, on this same pitch, were dashed.
Messi now has his 109th and 110th Champions League goals and, potentially, three extra matches to reduce the gap on Cristiano Ronaldo's 126, after Juventus were dumped out by Ajax. Barcelona's fans celebrated that too.
United's coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had urged his strikers to be more lethal here but it felt ominous that even before kick-off, Rashford, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez had hit 42 goals this season, while Messi on his own had 43.
Around an hour before kick-off, Alex Ferguson was on the side of the pitch, shaking hands with Ryan Giggs and sharing words with Solskjaer, the scorer of that goal against Munich here 20 years ago.
They could have hardly have asked for a better start. United were brilliant for eight minutes and could have been ahead within 30 seconds as Rashford raced onto a curving Paul Pogba pass and toed away a shot, which Marc-Andre ter Stegen bravely left to graze his own crossbar.
Magic MessiÂ
Barca were flustered, so much so the crowd even cheered with relief when Arthur Melo played his team's first convincing pass.
Then, Barcelona had their own eight-minute flurry as United almost conceded a penalty, ruled out after Fred took the ball before bringing down Ivan Rakitic, and then did concede, twice, to Messi.
Both could have been avoided, even if Young's turn on the edge of his own box was punished in devastating fashion. Young lunged in to atone for his mistake but Messi skipped away from him, poked it through Fred's legs and then whipped the ball past into the corner.
The second was simpler. Fred and Scott McTominay closed in on Coutinho and the ball spilled out to Messi, whose dribbling shot with his right foot should have drawn a routine save. Instead, De Gea let is squirm under his body for 2-0.
Pogba lashed out at the increasingly influential Arthur and Barca could have had a third before half-time, De Gea scrambling across to save on the line when Sergi Roberto should have finished.
Messi could have had his hat-trick too after Luis Suarez found him with a superb cutback and there was an almost comical sequence in the second half when the Argentinian played with his United chasers before finally being bundled over by McTominay.
Rashford might have made it interesting if he had controlled Pogba's ball over the top but Barcelona were in exhibition mode, helped by a vintage Coutinho curler after he had cut inside from the left.
Messi even attempted a bicycle kick and there were celebrations from the home fans when news went round that Ajax had taken the lead in Turin. They believe this is their year.
Premier League: Willian Gem Sinks Newcastle United As Chelsea Cement Fourth Place Updated: 13 January 2019 09:15 IST Fourth-placed Chelsea have won five of their last seven league matches and sit
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
Ranieri's appointment was announced today, and the manager's job is to save Fulham from relegation. And Ladbrokes has Ranieri on 7/4 to sign Danny Drinkwater in the January transfer window. Drinking water has been told that he can leave the blues when the right offer comes in, and the chance to meet Ranieri again could seduce the midfielder.
Fulham 1-2 Chelsea: Chelsea Player ratings | Premier League
What is another word for high-stakes gambler? Need synonyms for high-stakes gambler?Here's a list of similar words from our thesaurus that you can use instead.
Gambler's stakes -- Crossword clue | Crossword Nexus
LONDON (REUTERS) - Manchester United rolled to their 10th win in 11 games under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday (Feb 9), climbing into the top four in the
Fulham vs Manchester United LIVE score - Premier League 2018/19
Salah retains African award to seal great day for Egypt Wednesday January 9 2019 Liverpool's Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah speaks on stage with the 2018 African Footballer of the Year Award during the Caf award ceremony in Dakar, Senegal on January 8, 2019.
Salah retains African award to seal great day for Egypt
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri accepted his fine after being sent off in Monday night's 2-2 draw with Burnley.It's been suggested Sarri was provoked by con Chelsea boss Sarri on Burnley insults
The X-RATED insult which Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri reacted
Messi shines as Barca survive scare to see off Rayo Lionel Messi created a goal and scored another as Barcelona came from behind to beat struggling Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home on Saturday and stay seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
Messi shines as Barca survive scare to see off Rayo
Arsenal opinion: Should the Gunners make a move for Kurt Zouma? The Sun has reported that Arsenal manager Unai Emery is keen on adding defensive reinforcements in the summer. Appointed by the club
Petr Cech backing Arsenal young guns to plug gap left by Per
You know, I think Barca will be fine. 29 April 2013. By Nicol Hay. Football fans have a curious love for certainties - knowing that this player was definitely better than that one, that one club is clearly bigger than the other - that seems to be a product of the untidy nature of the game itself.
AC Milan Online v4.0 | The Archive
Real Madrid defender Sergio Reguilon is confident his team can bounce back from a disappointing campaign and says they will "100%" win a major title next season. The left-back told Goal's Albert
Santiago Solari: Title Race 'Not at All' over Despite Real
PARIS (AFP) - Arsenal face an uphill battle to progress in the Europa League after a 1-0 defeat by BATE Borisov in the last-32 first leg which saw Alexandre Lacazette sent off on Thursday (Feb 14)..
Arsenal beaten by BATE as Lacazette sent off - worldfootball.net
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 First Leg - Liverpool v Bayern Munich - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - February 19, 2019 Liverpool's Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho in action
Solid and smart Bayern hold Liverpool at Anfield - Reuters
LAUSANNE: Neymar was suspended for three Champions League matches by UEFA on Friday for insulting match officials following Paris Saint-Germain's shock exit from this season's tournament to Manchester United.
Neymar banned for three Champions League matches over ref
