UCL: Goals Rain As Barca & Bayern Qualify For Last 16

Fresh from crushing rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the weekend, Barca produced a performance that the Italians could not live with to secure top spot in the section.

Suarez opened the scoring after 15 minutes of the match at Camp Nou on Tuesday before Messi, Gerard Pique and Adriano added gloss to the scoreline in the second half.

Messi, who has not started for the Catalan powerhouse since September 26, scored twice, his opener after a sublime move involving every outfield player having a touch of the ball and nearly 30 passes.

Speaking to TV3 after the game, Barca Coach Luis Enrique said: “When you see the players enjoy themselves in every phase of the game you have to be satisfied. They enjoy themselves on the training ground and when they are playing and that is great.”

Bayern Munich, who many see as the only team capable of mounting a challenge to Barcelona in the competition, also booked a last 16 place Tuesday after a thumping 4-0 win against Olympiakos at the Allianz Arena. It is the 18th time Bayern has reached this stage in the Champions League.

Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman were on target for the Bavarians, who could even afford to lose Holger Badstuber to a red card early in the second half.

Bayern’s victory, which sealed top spot in Group F, also allowed Arsenal to stay in the competition as Alexis Sanchez scored twice in a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates.

Having provided the assist for Mesut Ozil to open the scoring after 29 minutes, Sanchez found the net on either side of halftime to wrap up a vital win.

The result leaves Arsenal needing a two-goal victory at second-placed Olympiacos – which was thumped 4-0 at Bayern Munich – to guarantee progression in a fortnight.

With the Arsenal manager saying after the match “We have to win. Let’s forget that for now and focus on Norwich (In the EPL) on Sunday.”

The situation appeared rather more straightforward for Chelsea, who cruised to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel with Gary Cahill, Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma on target.

In the other game of the group, Dynamo Kiev defeated FC Porto 2-0. The result leaves all three teams with a chance of progressing after the final round of matches.

Elsewhere, Zenit St Petersburg beat Valencia 2-0, and Gent whose fans were prevented from traveling because of security fears, won 2-1 at Lyon.

Real Madrid and Manchester City, who play on Wednesday, had already secured their places in the knockout stage.

 

 

UCL: Goals Rain As Barca & Bayern Qualify For Last 16

Defending champions, Barcelona, qualified for the last 16 of the Champions league as Group E winners with a scintillating 6-1 win over Italian side, AS Roma on Tuesday night at the Camp Nou.

Fresh from crushing rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the weekend, Barca produced a performance that the Italians could not live with to secure top spot in the section.

Suarez opened the scoring after 15 minutes of the match at Camp Nou on Tuesday before Messi, Gerard Pique and Adriano added gloss to the scoreline in the second half.

Messi, who has not started for the Catalan powerhouse since September 26, scored twice, his opener after a sublime move involving every outfield player having a touch of the ball and nearly 30 passes.

Speaking to TV3 after the game, Barca Coach Luis Enrique said: “When you see the players enjoy themselves in every phase of the game you have to be satisfied. They enjoy themselves on the training ground and when they are playing and that is great.”

Bayern Munich, who many see as the only team capable of mounting a challenge to Barcelona in the competition, also booked a last 16 place Tuesday after a thumping 4-0 win against Olympiakos at the Allianz Arena. It is the 18th time Bayern has reached this stage in the Champions League.

Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman were on target for the Bavarians, who could even afford to lose Holger Badstuber to a red card early in the second half.

Bayern’s victory, which sealed top spot in Group F, also allowed Arsenal to stay in the competition as Alexis Sanchez scored twice in a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates.

Having provided the assist for Mesut Ozil to open the scoring after 29 minutes, Sanchez found the net on either side of halftime to wrap up a vital win.

The result leaves Arsenal needing a two-goal victory at second-placed Olympiacos – which was thumped 4-0 at Bayern Munich – to guarantee progression in a fortnight.

With the Arsenal manager saying after the match “We have to win. Let’s forget that for now and focus on Norwich (In the EPL) on Sunday.”

The situation appeared rather more straightforward for Chelsea, who cruised to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel with Gary Cahill, Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma on target.

In the other game of the group, Dynamo Kiev defeated FC Porto 2-0. The result leaves all three teams with a chance of progressing after the final round of matches.

Elsewhere, Zenit St Petersburg beat Valencia 2-0, and Gent whose fans were prevented from traveling because of security fears, won 2-1 at Lyon.

Real Madrid and Manchester City, who play on Wednesday, had already secured their places in the knockout stage.