Barcelona thrashed AC Milan by 4-0 margin, advances into the quarter stage.

Barcelona thrashed AC Milan by 4-0 margin riding on talismanic effort of Lionel Messi in their second leg encounter of UEFA Champions League round of 16 at Nu-Camp lastnight, overturned their first leg 0-2 deficit sailed to the quarter stage. Lionel Messi scored a brace in the 5^th & 39^th minute while David Villa & Jordi Alaba scored each in the 55^th & added injury time of the second half respectively. This the first time in Champions League history that any team has overturned their 2-0 first leg deficit in second leg.

           Win was compulsory in here for Barcelona, not only a win as well as they had to overturn their first leg 0-2 deficit & another thing they had to be careful of swallowing a single goal by the visitors which could well end all of their dreams & could well be a lifeline for the visitors.

                           From the beginning minutes the hosts started furiously against the mighty rival AC Milan, as usual Lionel Messi leading all the attacks in upfront guided by Xavi & Inniesta from a bit of behind.

             A single change change in Barca’s first eleven, the inclusion of xavi changed the entire scenario of the match.

              Lionel Messi opened the account in the 5^th minute of the game scoring an absolute stunner to get his side right back in the tie. The Milan defence couldn't close him down quickly enough as he collected the ball on the edge of the area, and he powered a spectacular 20-yard strike into the top corner. Milan custodian Abbiatti remained silent viewer during that goal. Sliced the deficit into one goal margin.

             As the game progressed it became a real one sided affair, eminent Milan defence have lost the way to resist the relentless supremacy of Barca in the midfield & penetrative zone.

             Few minutes after that goal the homeside denied from a genuine penalty while Pedro was pulled down inside the box by Abate, referee denied that appeal.

            Suddenly in the 38^th minute of the game the visitors luckily got the most handy chance of the game against the complete run of the play to seal their position. A terrible header from Javier Mascherano let in Niang, who had time to pick his spot, but he only found the base of the post.

              Lionel Messi stroke once again in the 39^th minute, A bad giveaway in the center of midfield caught the Milan midfield out of position and allowed Iniesta to find Messi on the edge of the box, in a similar position from which he scored his first goal. Instead of going to the far post, like he did on his first goal, he placed a perfect shot to the near post that Abbiati never appeared to have a chance to stop, wiped out their first leg deficit.

            Barcelona finished the first half with 2-0 margin, locked the tie 2 all in aggregate.

             AC Milan started the second half with lots of expectations, everybody thought they will make a great fightback & somehow managed to score the priceless one goal which will guide towards the next stage.

             But the same one sided story started to repeat after the lemon break. Due to that the Catalans would strike again to finally move ahead in the tie. Xavi’s fantastic pass picked out Villa on the right, who shifted the ball onto his left foot and bent a fine finish into the far corner in the 55^th minute of the game.

            Barcelona had taken few changes, they introduced former Barca star Bojan & Brazilian legend Robinho for the hunt of that priceless goal, they started to pressurize on the hosts in the last 10 minutes of the game, on that time they could have easily scored the much needed solitary goal for them.

             Meanwhile Jordi Alaba scored the fourth goal for the hosts in the dying moments & sealed the tie in their fore.

          The strike force lead by Lionel Messi & combination of Xavi & Inniesta remained phenomenal throughout the match while Milan custodian Abbiatti remained the busiest person throughout the game.

           Lots of questions were already raised regarding tiki-taka concept, lots of answers were to be given at Nu-Camp, Barca as well as the Spanish brigade including Argentine legend Lionel Messi proved their greatness & stamped on their status once again taming the best composed defence of Italian powerhouse AC Milan.

               As well as all Barca supporters entire planet was eyeing to watch that if it’s going to be the demise of tiki-taka format of Barcelona or can they bounce back from that critical life support condition, yes Barcelona did it with style, bounced back stormly silenced all experts.

           In another match of Champions league Turkish giant Galatassary defeated German outfit Schalke by 3-2 margin in their second leg tie following a 1 all stalemate in the first leg.

           On behalf of 4-3 aggregate Galatassry booked their berth the quarter stage also.

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Barcelona is going to face AC Milan at Nu Camp in the 2nd leg of Champions League round of 16.

        It’s going to be a litmus test for Barcelona at their home Nu-Camp against the Italian power house ACMilan in their second leg tie of UEFA Champions League tonight following their 0-2 first leg defeat at San Siro.

         If the semifinalist of last year Catalan giant Barcelona side wants to remain in that tournament & wants to go through in the quarter stage then they have to overturn their first leg 0-2 away defeat against the mighty rival AC Milan, in the another hand the task is far easier for the visitors only a goalless draw or even a 1-0 defeat will also guide them towards the next stage.

        Since last few days we have seen that Barca has lost 3 out of their 4 encounters against 2 real heavy weights. They have lost their Champions League outing against the same side, back to back lost twice against their archrival Real Madrid, once in Copa-Del-Ray first leg semis & once in the second leg of La-Liga encounter. However they recovered & back to the winning note by beating Spanish counterpart Deportivo la Coruna in their La Liga encounter. Messi has created an magnificent record of scoring goals in back to back 17 matches. Currently Barcelona is leading the table & stretched their lead to 14 points ahead of the runners in La Liga.

         Meanwhile AC Milan has played 3 Serie A games after their winning encounter with Barcelona, they made a goalless draw with archrival Inter Milan, hammered Lazio by 3-0 margin & edge past Genoa by 2-0 margin in their last Seria A encounter.

         However, the Rossoneri  will be without striker Giampaolo Pazzini who suffered a micro-fracture to his right fibula in the Genoa game after opening the scoring for his side while Barca is going to get complete fit Xavi in their first eleven.

        The Rossoneri were technically perfect in their defensive stand against Barca in the opening leg, with the defense and midfield allowing few holes. They shut Xavi out of the game with a man-marking system, and in doing so, eliminated good access for Lionel Messi.
       Milan were also deadly on the counterattack, with Stephan El Shaarawy proving to be a genuine threat down the left-hand side all night long. Granted he was at times wasteful, but he continued to get after the Blaugrana, and cause problems for their defense.
        For Barca, the biggest key heading into the return fixture—which they didn't do in the first leg—is to hit the byline as often as they can. By stretching the Italian's defense, they will allow more space in behind, as well as space on top of the box, for Messi and company to capitalize on.

        Currently interim coach Jordi Roura, deputizing Barca side while Tito Vilanova undergoes cancer treatment, warned his men are up for the challenge against Milan while Milan boss Massimilano Allegri will bank on his defensive formation.

     Lots of things would be proved here, peoples are going to watch that if it is going to be the demise of tiki-taka concept in football or not, if they want to prove here then they have to breakthrough one of the best composed & committed defence in this world.

Statistics between Catalan giant Barcelona & Italian power house AC Milan.

          Prior to today’s match Barcelona & AC Milan clashed 16 times between them, 14times in UEFA Champions League or formerly known as European Cup & twice in the both legs of the final of 1989 UEFA Super Cup, 7 in Nu-Camp, 7 in San Siro & 1 in neutral venue at Olympic Stadium, Athens during 1994 UEFA Champions League final.

          Barcelona has won 6 of them, AC Milan has won also 6 times while 4 of them finished in a stalemate.

         Overall they met 13 times in Champions League, they clashed once in the Champions League final of 1993-94 where AC Milan won the triumph by thumping Barcelona by a clear 4-0 margin.

        First time they met in the round of 16 stage or Champions League on 1959-60, Barcelona won that by 7-1 aggregate, first leg at San Siro by 2-0 margin & second leg at Nu-Camp by 5-1 margin.

         Second time they met in the final of 1989 UEFA Super Cup where AC Milan bagged the crown by 2-1 aggregate, first leg at Nu-Camp ended in an 1 all stalemate & AC Milan won the second leg at San Siro by 1-0 margin.

        In the next encounter AC Milan won the 1993 Champions League final hammering Barcelona by 4-0 margin.

        Fourth time they met on 2000-01 in the preliminary group stage of the Champions League, AC Milan won this time by 5-3 aggregate, first leg they won by 2-0 margin at Nu-Camp while the second leg in San Siro ended in a 3 all stalemate.

        Fifth time they met on 2004-05 in the group stage of the Champions League, this time AC Milan won by aggregate on behalf of their one away goal, AC Milan won the first leg at San Siro by 1-0 margin while Barcelona won the second leg at Nu-Camp by 2-1 margin.

        Sixth time they met in the semi finals stage of 2005-06 Champions League which was won by Barcelona by 1-0 aggregate, Barcelona won the first leg at San Siro by 1-0 margin while the second leg at Nu-Camp finished in a goalless stalemate.

         Seventh time they met in the group stage of the 2011-12 Champions League, this time Barcelona won by 5-4 in aggregate, first leg at Nu-Camp ended in a 2 all stalemate while Barcelona won the second leg at San Siro by 3-2 margin.

         In the same edition of 2011-12 Champions League they met once again in the quarter stage of  which was once again won by Barcelona by 3-1 margin, first leg at San Siro ended in a goalless stalemate while Barcelona won by 3-1 margin at Nu-Camp.

         Lasttime they met on 20^th Feb 2013 in the first leg which was won by Milan by 2-0 margin.

        Whether record is concern AC Milan is the second successful team after Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League formerly known as European cup, AC Milan have won it seven times in 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 & 2007. Only Real Madrid, with nine triumphs, have won it more times than AC Milan.

        In the other hand Barcelona have won the competition four times in 1992, 2006, 2009 & 2011.

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Real Madrid sealed their berth in the quarter beating Manchester United by 2-1 margin.

         Manchester United Knocked out from the UEFA Champions League by defeating 1-2 (2-3 in aggregate) against mighty rival Real Madrid at Old Trafford lastnight in the second leg of the round of 16^th stage of UEFA Champions League following their first leg 1-1 stalemate at Santiago Bernabeu. ManU has taken the lead in the 48^th minute of the game courtesy an own goal by Real Madrid defender Sergei Ramos but Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir showed a needless straight red card to Nani in the 56^th minute of the game for a challenge on the Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa which guided ManU down to 10 men & turned into a disaster for the hosts while the visitors utilized that 1 man advantage with immediate effect, scored 2 goals in the 67^th & 69^th minute courtesy substituted Luca Modrich & Christano Ronaldo which denied the homeside a place in the quarter stage.

        ManU is currently leading the EPL table distantly ahead of the second placed team, in their last EPL encounter they hammered Norwich City by 4-0 margin while Real Madrid arrived Old Trafford after convincingly winning back to back two El-Clasicos against the same archrival Barcelona.

     Alex Ferguson omitted Wayne Rooney in his starting line up, instead of that he started Danny Welback with Van Persie in the upfront, Ryan Gigs made his 1000^th appearance in the midfield due to the absence of Phil Jones.

        First time after 2009 Christano Ronaldo arrived in Old Trafford to face his old club he got a grand welcome & standing ovation from the vociferous crowd of the Old Trafford, just before the kick off it was announced in the public address system of Old Trafford that “Christano Ronaldo welcome back at Old Trafford” might have made him a bit of emotional against his old mates.

         Win was desperately needed for the visitors so why Jose Mourinho started with an attacking eleven putting Christano Ronaldo, Gonajlo Higuen & Angel Di Maria all together in the starting line up.

        United dominated the entire first half even their goalkeeper David De Gea had not touched a single ball during the entire first half.

         Danny Welback was creating all the menaces from the left side in the visitors defence. United almost got their first goal in the 21^st minute while Vidic’s strong header following a corner from Ryan Gigs was denied by the post only, Danny Welback hit the rebound in the goalkeepers hand from a clear offside position.

         Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez repeatedly saved twice firstly the short from van Persie & following that rebound another strong attempt by Welback in the 34^th minute of the game.

       Angel Di Maria got injured due to hamstring pull in the 40^th minute of the game, he was substituted by the Brazilian legend Kaka.

      After the first 30 minutes in action the visitors also started to counter but no goal was scored, the first half ended in a goalless stalemate.

         From the beginning minutes of the second half we got different United side taken the entire control of the midfield, starving for the goal. Madrid defence failed to swallow against that pressure due to that United occupied their first goal in the 48^th minute which is actually an own goal scored by Madrid defender Sergei Ramos during his failed clearance attempt following a sharp ball from left side by Nani.

       The anti climax, however came in the 56^th minute of the game when Nani was needlessly shown a straight red card by Turkish referee during a challenge with Arbeloa in the midfield which actually finished the game as well as the homeside.

        Nani’s foot was undoubtedly high as he collided with Alvaro Arbeloa but he was not looking at the Real Madrid full-back. There was no malice, no intent. Nani’s eyes were on the ball. He did not even know Arbeloa was arriving fast. Caught accidentally by Nani, Arbeloa went down and stayed down, clutching his midriff. Even rival captain Sergei Ramos also tried to convince the Turkish referee about his decision.

      We got a furious Alex Ferguson pushed his kit-man out of the way to race from the dug-out to the pitch. Nani’s exclusion gave the visitors a handy opportunity to compose their midfield.

       Few minutes after that incident experienced Jose Mourinho took his second change while he introduced attacking midfielder Croatian international Modric in the place of Arbeloa.

        Which strategy actually became fruitful for the visitors. He endeared himself to the Madrid faithful with an absolutely stunning goal to pull his side level on the night and in the tie. After a long exchange of passes 30 yards away from goal, he dribbled with purpose to his right before unloading on a banana shot to the near post. David De Gea couldn't get across in time as the ball deflected off the inside of the post and in, leveling the tie at 1-1.

       Just after three minutes of that goal Christano Ronaldo himself  put the visitors 2-1 ahead following a goal bound pass directed by Higuen from the right side of the box in the 69^th minute which actually sealed their berth in the quarter stage.

        Christano Ronaldo didn’t make any kind of celebration or physical gesture after that goal which keeps Mourinho on course to become the first manager to win three European Cups with three different clubs. "It was an emotional moment," said Ronaldo. "I can say only one word: unbelievable. The supporters made me feel shy, so I think in the two games I didn't play like I play all the time, at the same level. I feel happy because Madrid are through but a bit sad because United are out."

         After that goal it became a tough job for the homeside to score two more goals to level the tie with 10 men in their hand.

        Ferguson introduced Wayne Rooney & Ashely Young in the later stage of the game, didn’t work for him, Rooney hooked a close-range volley over the bar in the 74^th minute.
         United fans kept chanting, kept hoping. Committed to attack, United inevitably left space at the back. Ronaldo almost added a second, forcing David de Gea into a low save.

       Jose Mourinho left the bench few minutes to remain in the last whistle moreover we got none of the Madrid players alongwith Christano Ronaldo celebrate their victory at Old Trafford lastnight.
        In an another encounter of round of 16 German side Borrusian Dortumund hammered Ukraine side Spartak Dontesk by a clear 3- 0 margin & secured their place in the quarter stage.

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