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Barcelona have qualified for the Champions League quarterfinal for the 12th year in a row as after demolishing Lyon 5-1 at the Camp Nou. The blue-eyed boy of Barcelona Lionel Messi once again made the difference with two goals and two assists, while Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Piqué and Ousmane Dembele also got on the scoresheet.
After a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Lyon, Barcelona came into the game with question marks over whether the wasteful finishing in Lyon would haunt them. But Messi clearly had no such worries.
He looked sharp from the first minute of the game, as his early shot was saved by the Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. It took Barcelona just 17 minutes to open the scoring as Messi executed a perfect Panenka penalty after Jason Denayer clipped Luis Suárez in the box with a poor sliding tackle.
The home side doubled their lead in the 31st minute of the game as Suárez set up Coutinho for an easy tap-in.
In the second half Messi missed an early chance after a superb display from Arthur to set up the Argentine. Marc-André ter Stegen was then called into action in the 47th minute when the Lyon captain Nabil Fakir unleashed a powerful strike which was headed to the bottom corner of the Barcelona goal if not for the intervention of the German goalkeeper.
Lyon got their deserved goal in the 58th minute through Lucas Tousart after a pin-ball situation in the Barcelona box. But just when it seemed like the “Disaster of Rome” was again on the horizon for Barcelona, Messi single-handedly opened the Lyon defence and scored with his weaker right foot in the 78th minute to restore Barcelona’s two goal advantage.
Piqué and Dembele added the fourth and fifth goals for Barcelona respectively from Messi assists in the 81st and 86th minutes of the game, and rounded off an imposing 5-1 win.
This was Barcelona’s 26th win in their last 29 home games in Europe. Their hunt for a sixth Champions League remains on track after the mesmerizing display from their talisman.
