Barcelona captain Lionel Messi was left bloodied in the face after a challenge by Chris Smalling during his side's 1-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final fixture on Wednesday.An own goal from Luke Shaw was enough for the Catalan giants to earn a much-needed advantage in the fixture as they are set to face the Red Devils in the closing leg next week.Smalling's hand hit the five-time Ballon d'Or winner just as the pair were trying to win the ball in the air. This left the Argentine ace bleeding and bruised in the face.Spekaing of the injury following the game, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde said (via Fox Sports Asia), "Messi wasn’t so comfortable after the blow. We have to examine him tomorrow to see how he is. He was strong, but he has quite a significant bruise."He added, "When you see the atmosphere here and the team they have and it being the Champions League, it’s hard to win here. It was a difficult game and complicated at times, but we had the clearest chances."A report in ESPN has claimed that Messi is likely to sit out Barcelona's La Liga game against Huesca this weekend owing to the injury. He will reportedly undergo tests in Barcelona today to determine how severe the injury is.Despite not finding the net during the game, Messi, who has 43 goals in all competitions so far this season, managed to assist the only goal for Luis Suarez. The goal was, of course, ruled as an own goal.The victory was crucial for the Catalan outfit, not just for the advantage, but also for being their first Champions League win away from home since 2016.Barcelona will host the Red Devils at Camp Nou for the second leg of the fixture in a game that will prove to be exciting, considering how United overturned a two-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the previous stages of the competition. Fans have since taken to Twitter to react to Smalling's horror injury on Messi:Cristiano Ronaldo coming back from an injury and scores in yet another big game. 24 Quarter-Final goals.Lionel Messi faking an injury and disappearing in yet another big game. 0 goals in 11 quarter-final games.pic.twitter.com/wWSM9Bg2B0— Cristiano Ronaldo ▫️◾️ (@CRonaldoLive) April 10, 2019Manchester United fans when they realize Messi is back on the pitch even after the injury #MUNBAR pic.twitter.com/PRvFp0Xe4E— Demola (@uncleDemola) April 10, 2019Smalling: If you can't beat Messi, beat Messi. pic.twitter.com/GdJkvAk0xI— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) April 10, 2019Big fan of Chris Smalling saying “bring it on” to Messi and then making him bleed inside 30 minutes.— The Man Utd Way (@TheManUtdWay) April 10, 2019Chris Smalling was up for this pre-match, Messi now knows he wasn’t joking.— Sam Homewood (@SamHomewood) April 10, 2019Chris smalling responds to everyone who laughed at him saying he could handle Messi 😂 pic.twitter.com/fQhhWcwduE— Jordan Carroll (@Jordinho88) April 10, 2019How Smalling has defended Messi so far. #MUNBAR pic.twitter.com/ypOuDni1QY— sotrixbax🇺🇬🇺🇬 (@sotrixbax) April 10, 2019Smalling everytime Messi came close to him. pic.twitter.com/wE14Hjfa4G— Football Vines (@FootballVines) April 10, 2019Smalling 1-0 Messi pic.twitter.com/SRExuiDmyv— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) April 10, 2019When Messi tries to dribble past Smalling#MUNBAR pic.twitter.com/upLrUjQypS— The Mind (@sa3adun) April 10, 2019That Moment Smalling made Messi bleed.. Barca fans said "it is over them made him angry" dude came back on and was average as fvck #ManBar #UCL pic.twitter.com/zVfdVkfxmf— Abd'h Muh'd (@muhdy9ted) April 10, 2019Messi returning to the field eyeing up Smalling like... pic.twitter.com/4KPCaFA3pE— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) April 10, 2019Messi going back into the field after Smalling made him bleed #MUNBAR pic.twitter.com/P6wAfgwHQz— 💀💀 (@Jenewari_) April 10, 2019