Champions League: Messi magic and De Gea howler leaves Manchester United humbled

Lionel Messi scored twice to send Barcelona into the Champions League last four at the expense of Manchester United.

Published : Apr 17, 2019 03:29 IST

Lionel Messi lookes like a man on a mission against Manchester United, scoring two goals and assisting one to send Barcelona into the Champions League semifinals.
Lionel Messi lookes like a man on a mission against Manchester United, scoring two goals and assisting one to send Barcelona into the Champions League semifinals.
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Lionel Messi lookes like a man on a mission against Manchester United, scoring two goals and assisting one to send Barcelona into the Champions League semifinals.

Two goals from Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to a 3-0 defeat of Manchester United on Tuesday and a 4-0 aggregate triumph in its Champions League quarter-final tie.

With a 1-0 advantage from the first meeting at Old Trafford, the Catalans took command inside the first 20 minutes thanks to a double from their number 10, the second of which owed plenty to a dreadful mistake from David de Gea.

Highlights: Messi magic sends Barcelona through to semis

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named an attacking line-up featuring Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, but the blow of those first-half goals seemed to drain any hope of repeating the kind of performance they produced to stun Paris Saint-Germain in France in the last 16. The tie was firmly put to bed by a sublime goal from Philippe Coutinho, who may get the chance to face old club Liverpool in the semi-finals if it sees off Porto on Wednesday.

Rashford prodded a shot against the bar in a positive start from United, but it engineered its own downfall within the space of four minutes. Ashley Young dithered in possession and lost the ball near his own box, allowing Messi to step into space and drill a shot beyond De Gea and into the bottom-left corner.

The United keeper could do little about it, but he endured a calamitous moment 20 minutes in, allowing Messi's tame right-foot shot to squeeze beneath his body and into the net.

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David de Gea (orange) reacts after a mistake from him allows Lionel Messi score his second to put Barcelona 2-0 ahead against Manchester United.
 

De Gea denied a certain Sergi Roberto goal after Messi left Phil Jones chasing shadows, but he was again helpless as Barca struck a third on the hour mark, Coutinho sending a stunning strike beyond his outstretched right hand.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a magnificent 90th-minute save from substitute Alexis Sanchez, but United was well beaten and must now fight to turn around its recent form after a fifth defeat in seven games in all competitions.

What does it mean? Messi just warming up as United's season falls apart

The optimism Solskjaer brought back to United appears to have run dry. It started positively but gifted Barca the tie with mistakes, making it eight years now without a semi-final appearance. A return to next year's competition is no guarantee, either.

As for Barca, it might have looked short of its best at times across the two legs, but Messi looks like a man on a mission this season. With him in such form, a treble is very much on the cards.

Messi the master of ceremonies

The entire game seemed to dance to Messi's tune. His second goal - his 45th of the season - might have been fortunate, but he deserves all the plaudits that come his way. He appears determined to get his hands on this trophy again.

READ | Messi's quarterfinal drought likely to end, says Valverde

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The entire game seemed to dance to Lionel Messi's tune. In a supreme display, he scored two against Manchester United.
 

De Gea is becoming a problem

There is simply no reason a goalkeeper of De Gea's calibre should have allowed Messi's second to go in. Solskjaer denied a recent suggestion from Gary Neville that De Gea has perhaps become distracted by ongoing contract talks, but the continued errors in his performances are difficult to ignore.

 

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