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Champions League Review: Clinical Messi destroys Chelsea and Manchester United hit rock bottom
Antonio Conte was heralded for his tactics at Stamford Bridge and opted for a target man for the away leg in Olivier Giroud. That masterplan was deemed worthless inside 20 minutes, as Barcelona and Lionel Messi illustrated their superiority once again.
Just two minutes had passed when Messi squeezed the ball through the legs of Thibaut Courtois from a tight angle, which is the quickest goal the maestro had ever scored. Barcelona doubled their advantage, when Messi dispossessed Cesc Fabregas before evading a sliding challenge from Andreas Christensen and rounding Cesar Azpilicueta.
AS IT HAPPENED: Besiktas vs Bayern Munich
AS IT HAPPENED: Barcelona vs Chelsea
The Chelsea defence tried to recover as they expected the Argentine genius to shoot, but he simply squared it to Ousmane Dembele. It was the former Borussia Dortmund attacker’s first goal for the Catalans as his strike had too much power for Courtois.
Chelsea had their chances with Marcos Alonso providing encouragement, as he forced a save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen and then hit the upright with a free-kick on the stroke of half-time. They continued the threat after the interval and even had a sustained period of possession, with Antonio Rudiger heading against the crossbar at the very end.
However, Messi scored his 100th goal in the Champions League against the run of play, with a finish that went under the legs of the Blues goalkeeper once again. It wasn’t Barcelona’s most convincing display, but that made it even more impressive as they could still beat the English champions 3-0.
Nzonzi shines, as United limp out of Europe
Manchester United were eliminated from the Champions League after an abject performance against Sevilla. The home side briefly started brightly, but it didn’t take long for the Andalusians to find their groove.
Ever Banega and Steven Nzonzi were the main reasons for this, as the midfielders dominated the central battle, with Banega using finesse and creativity and Nzonzi utilising his physical prowess and organisation. It was a stark contrast from United’s holding midfielders’ Nemanja Matic and Marouane Fellaini, as Jose Mourinho opted to leave Paul Pogba on the bench once again.
READ MORE: Mourinho beaten at his own game
Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku did offer some bright moments, but they weren’t frequent enough as United played in a reactionary manner. Fellaini was often high up the pitch and gave the ball away needlessly which allowed Sevilla to counter-attack dangerously.
Sevilla were much more incisive in the build-up and just lacked composure and cutting edge in attack. That changed with the introduction of Wissam Ben Yedder, who provided the much-needed impetus with two goals in the six minutes since he arrived from the bench.
Lukaku did pull one back with six minutes remaining, but they still required another two goals to progress due to Sevilla’s away goals. Ben Yedder should have completed his hat-trick when De Gea saved with his feet in a one-v-one.
Mourinho will rightly be questioned about their inability to dominate given the talent at his disposal. For Sevilla and their supporters, it was a memorable occasion, with the players singing with the travelling crowd in a unique moment at the final whistle.
Dzeko shows Chelsea what they are missing
Roma beat Shakhtar Donetsk with a 1-0 victory to reach the quarter-final by away goals, as they showed patience in a tense encounter. Shakhtar were gifted an opportunity just after the half hour mark, when Frederico Fazio dawdled in possession and Facundo Ferreyra raced clear only to completely miss the target.
The Italians did get the goal they needed when Kevin Strootman’s first time pass into the left channel surprised the Ukrainian sides defence, but not Edin Dzeko who raced clear. The striker beat Andriy Pyatov in the race and he simply prodded the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs into the net.
It wasn’t just his important strike that made the former Manchester City forward’s role vital to Eusebio Di Francesco’s men. His ability to hold up the ball and allow his teammates to move up the pitch was crucial when under pressure from the away side.
His skill in possession saw him win free-kicks by drawing fouls, whilst his own right-back Alessandro Florenzi even stopped to applaud his contribution on one occasion alongside the crowd. Dzeko curled an effort just wide of the upright with an hour gone.
Chelsea were keen on Dzeko in January and Roma were willing to sell, but it was the Bosnian that wanted to remain in the Italian capital after recently purchasing a new home. Frustrations boiled over for Shakhtar as Ivan Ordets was sent-off for pulling Dzeko to the ground when the striker had a clear scoring opportunity and then Ferreyra pushed a ball boy over the advertising hoardings.
Besiktas deserve credit for not rolling over
Besiktas never realistically expected to overturn the tie, with the Turkish champions 5-0 down from the first leg at the Allianz Arena. Coach Senol Gomes made seven changes from the team that beat Genclerbirligi 1-0 at the weekend, with a trip to fellow title chasers Istanbul Basaksehir on Sunday.
Bayern Munich were keen to maintain a momentum that has affected them in past seasons. Besiktas certainly didn’t make it easy for themselves, but they showed a spirit that will give them confidence domestically.
Thomas Muller’s cross saw Thiago Alcantara perfectly time his connection to give Bayern the lead on the day. However, his joy turned to despair when he was replaced by James Rodriguez before the break, as the Spaniard was hit by yet another injury.
Immediately after the restart, Rafinha’s ball into the area was inexplicably knocked it his own goal by Gokhan Gonul in a catastrophic mix-up with his experienced goalkeeper Tolga Zengin. A ginger cat somehow found its way onto the field to disrupt the gloom, but it wasn’t the last time the home supporters had anything to cheer about.
Vagner Love poked the ball past Sven Ulreich and then Mustafa Pektemek almost levelled proceedings straight afterwards. Sandro Wagner scored his fourth goal in his last six appearances, as he justifies Bayern’s decision to sign him from Hoffenheim.
