Champions League Goals

Barcelona vs Bayern Leverkusen Champions League 07 March 2012

2012-03-08T13:56:00.001-08:00

Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen All Goals and... door Champions_League_Goals

Lionel Messi scores five in Barcelona Champions League win

Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League fixture as brilliant Barcelona crushed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 to cruise into the last eight.

The Argentine has now scored 53 goals in 49 games for club and country this season, moving him to within seven goals of becoming the club's record scorer.

Cesar Rodriguez struck 235 times during a 13-year stint at the Nou Camp but Messi looks set to eclipse that before his 25th birthday.

At times he appeared to be playing on an entirely different level as he brought his phenomenal tally up to 228 goals in 311 appearances - which includes 186 in his last 201 games - and condemned the Germans to a 10-2 aggregate defeat.

And his five at this stage of the competition helped Barca send out the clearest signal yet that they intend to reach their third final in four years and become the first club in Champions League history to defend the title.

The 24-year-old scored twice in a relatively ordinary first-half showing from the home side before adding three more after the break as Barcelona went through the gears to ruthlessly dispatch a Leverkusen team who beat Bayern Munich at the weekend.

There was even time for manager Pep Guardiola to hand young midfielder Tello a European debut as a replacement for Andres Iniesta, and then see the 20-year-old score twice in seven minutes.

Leverkusen substitute Karim Bellarabi fired in the smallest of consolations when he curled into the corner in stoppage time, but the German side were well and truly trounced.

Guardiola has been linked with the managerial vacancy at Chelsea but on this evidence would be mad to walk away from the best side in Europe, particularly when armed with a one-off of a number 10.

Leverkusen, trailing 3-1 from the first leg and without an away win in this competition since October 2002, committed men forward early on, but when Gerard Pique cut out a cross Barca sliced their way through in a matter of seconds as Xavi clipped a pass over the top to find Messi running in on goal.

The striker had time to wait for 20-year-old Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno to come out before beating him with a magnificently weighted left-foot lob.

Messi doubled the lead when he danced inside from the right before planting a shot into the far corner.

He then began a spell of four goals in 13 manic second-half minutes when he completed his eighth hat-trick of the season with a right-footed lob after Cesc Fabregas had played him in.

Guardiola took the chance to rest the peerless Iniesta and Xavi in midfield, but there was no let-up for Leverkusen as Tello scored within a minute of coming on from another Fabregas pass.

Tello was involved in Messi's fourth as his pass forward was not gathered by Leno to gift the world player of the year a tap-in, and Tello then made it 6-0 on the night with another clinical finish from Dani Alves's pass.

There was still half an hour remaining, but Barca did finally take their foot off the gas before Messi added his fifth with a fine curling effort from 20 yards.

It was incredibly the 88th goal scored by Barcelona at the Nou Camp this season.

Bellarabi momentarily halted the procession with his fine late finish from an acute angle but that did nothing to detract from Barcelona - and Messi's - exquisite display.

Apoel vs Lyon Champions League 07 March 2012

2012-03-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Apoel Nicosia vs Lyon Penalty Shootout... door holydutch

Apoel Nicosia seal Champions League shoot-out win over Lyon

Keeper Dionisios Chiotis ensured Apoel Nicosia's Champions League fairytale continued as the European minnows knocked out Lyon on penalties to book a place in the quarter-finals.

The Cypriot champions trailed 1-0 from the first leg but Gustavo Manduca levelled on aggregate in the ninth minute, tapping home from close range following a cross by Constantinos Charalambides.

Apoel almost went ahead on aggregate when Aly Cissokho headed against his own woodwork.

The hosts had Manduca sent off for a second bookable offence shortly before the end of extra-time, but Chiotis denied Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos from the spot to spark jubilant scenes at the GSP Stadium.

Apoel have enjoyed some wonderful European nights this season - 2-1 wins over Zenit St Petersburg and Porto are among the highlights - but nothing matched this.

Ivan Jovanovic's side managed a solitary attempt on goal in the first leg in France but found the net with their first threatening attack in Nicosia.

The Lyon defence failed to deal with Charalambides's low cross and Brazilian Manduca was on hand to tap home.

Lyon, who dominated the first leg, were guilty of wasting several chances again.

Ederson was denied by Chiotis's fingertip save, Michel Bastos nodded wastefuly wide and Edersn was unable to keep his header on target.

Apoel almost went ahead on aggregate three minutes before half-time, keeper Hugo Lloris thwarting Esteban Solari with a fine stop.

The home side continued to put the Lyon defence under pressure after the interval but the closest they came to scoring was when Cissokho was saved by the frame of the goal in the 56th minute.

Although Manduca was dismissed for a clumsy challenge on Lyon substitute Lacazette, the drama was far from over.

Ailton, Nuno Morais, Nektarios Alexandrou and Ivan Trickovski held their nerve from the penalty spot as Apoel went through in thrilling fashion.

Benfica vs Zenit Champions League 06 March 2012

2012-03-07T05:50:00.002-08:00

Benfica vs Zenit St. Petersburg All Goals... door holydutch

Benfica beat Zenit to reach Champions League last eight.

Maxi Pereira and Nelson Oliveira booked Benfica's place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg.

They triumphed 4-3 on aggregate as the visitors rarely threatened despite dominating possession.

Pereira found the net with a powerful close-range shot in first-half stoppage time.

Zenit did not change their tactics after conceding and Oliveira struck on the break in time added on.

Zenit had never reached this stage before and, although manager Luciano Spalletti promised that his team had not come to Lisbon for a draw, their negativity suggested otherwise.

Lone striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov was totally isolated as the Russians defended deep, but Pereira's strike just before the break left their gameplan in tatters.

Other than Artur's sloppiness almost allowing Roman Shirokov in during the first half, the Benfica goalkeeer had little to do despite the visitors having most of the ball after the interval.

Benfica forced Zenit back right from the start. Goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev pulled off a string of fine stops, with a tipped-over save from Bruno Cesar's curling effort the highlight of his work.

But he could do nothing about Benfica's opener. Cesar clipped a ball into Axel Witsel, whose powerful shot was blocked by Malafeev before he managed to back-heel for Pereira to find the bottom corner.

The Russians had to be more positive after the break but Benfica looked even more dangerous on the break and Witsel had a drive deflected wide after a quick counter attack.An unmarked Jardel should have increased the advantage from the Cesar corner that followed and Oscar Cardozo also clipped a shot wide after racing on to a loose Zenit pass.

Cardozo was also denied with a powerful drive and Zenit finally worked Artur when Bruno Alves tried his luck from 35 yards.

But the impressive Cesar slipped through for Oliveira to clip in a second in stoppage time.

Arsenal 3 - 0 AC Milan Champions League 06 March 2012

2012-03-06T17:01:00.001-08:00

Arsenal vs Milan All Goals [06-03-2012] door Champions_League_Goals

Brave Arsenal effort falls short

Arsenal scored three first-half goals but could not complete an epic comeback against AC Milan, who held on to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

Milan, leading 4-0 from the first leg, were rocked when Laurent Koscielny headed home a corner and a mistake let Tomas Rosicky slot in Arsenal's second.

Robin van Persie's penalty increased the Gunners' momentum before the break.

But the Dutchman missed a golden chance from close range and Milan had the best openings in a frantic end to the game.

Arsenal's night ultimately ended in glorious failure but the spirit and verve with which they went about a seemingly impossible task means they bow out of Europe with their heads held high.

That seemed unlikely after the insipid display by Arsene Wenger's side in the first leg last month, but this time it was Milan who quickly found themselves crumbling at the back.

Arsenal made the perfect start when, after just seven minutes, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's dipping corner found Koscielny leaping unmarked at the near post to beat Christian Abbiati with a bouncing header.

Milan looked rattled and the Gunners kept finding gaps in their defence, with the in-form Van Persie a constant threat.

The Dutchman had two efforts saved by Abbiati and only a poor ball by Rosicky stopped him testing the Rossoneri keeper again after Urby Emanuelson gave the ball away in a dangerous position.

The Italian side, so dominant at the San Siro, were unable to impose themselves up front and were punished for another defensive error when Rosicky made it 2-0 after 26 minutes.

Walcott surged down the right past Djamel Mesbah - floundering on his Champions League debut - and when Thiago Silva was unable to clear his cross, Rosicky was in the right place to squeeze his low shot past Abbiati and inside the post.

Milan's only response was a long-range effort by Ignazio Abate which was easily dealt with by Wojciech Szczesny and things got even better for the Gunners just before half-time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ran at Mesbah and was sandwiched between the hapless Milan defender and Antonio Nocerino inside the box, with Van Persie slamming home the resulting penalty after referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot.

At that stage, what would have been the biggest comeback in Champions League history looked within Arsenal's grasp.

Milan, who needed to score one goal to leave Wenger's side needing six to progress, missed their only real chance of the half when Stephan El Shaarawy fired into the side-netting after finding space inside the box.

Arsenal continued to threaten immediately after the break but their cause was not helped by a hamstring injury to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was eventually forced off.

Their final clear-cut chance of the night came just before the hour mark, when Gervinho's deflected shot was saved by Abbiati, who got up brilliantly to keep out Van Persie's delicate follow-up.

While the Gunners tired, Milan at last seemed to find some organisation at the back and also began to come forward with intent at the other end.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic dragged his shot wide after latching on to a poor Szczesny clearance, but the Arsenal keeper also made crucial stops from the Swedish striker and El Shaarawy.

Nocerino wasted Milan's best chance when he fired straight at Szczesny from close range but, with the Gunners running out of ideas and seemingly out of steam in the closing stages, his poor finish did not affect the outcome.