Lionel Messi always proved to be a hero during the tournament. Even a sore hamstring could not stop him from going on as a substitute to help Barcelona score a 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and drive his team into the Champions League semifinals.
The draw of 2-2 in Paris last week proved that Barcelonaadvanced on the away goals rule which also meant that the contest finished 3-3 on aggregate. In fact, the presence of Messi in these matches thrashed the major oppositions.
Messi had injured his right leg after kicking goal in their first match. He was allowed to play an hour before kickoff. He entered the field in the 62nd minute with his team losing by 1-0 goal after Javier Pastore's opener and struggling to settle. Messi took nine minutes to start the decisive progress that Pedro Rodriguez ended up to put Barcelona into a sixth straight semifinal and eventually for a fourth Champions League title in eight seasons.
Messi won several matches for Barcelona on the way to trophy success in recent tournaments. However, his significance and leadership for the Catalan club was seldom more obvious than on Wednesday night.
Pedro admitted that Messi is a very crucial player and he applied a great effort. He proved to be the catalyst. They changed after he arrived and they have to thank him for that.
Barcelonawas a diverse squad with Messi. Despite not being in its form, compared to the lackluster side that PSG played with whereas the Argentina international witnessed it from the dugout.
Among the other events, Bayern Munich beat Juventus by 2-0 goals to achieve 4-0 in aggregate. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are the new semifinalists in Friday's draw.
Barcelona was almost unidentifiable for quite a long time in the first half without its trademark star, as it lost its luster and became slack in its traditional passing. Apart from Xavi Hernandez's second-minute free shot which just missed, PSG proved to the more keen side, struggling to score with Barcelona holding the away-goal benefit. But as soon as the four-time world player of the year Messi flashed in, Barcelona blasted into action. They scored the vital goal and dominated the remaining part of the match.
Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura proclaimed that Leo is an extraordinary player. They knew that they had the choice of playing him if the score wasn't favorable. He added that Leo is aware of when to push it and when to apply the brakes on. Even if it is not 100 percent, he still has the same attitude and motivation to win.
PSG's major threat in the early phase was striker Ezequiel Lavezzi. He compelled goalkeeper Victor Valdes into action twice before the quarter-hour mark. Meanwhile, Lucas kicked a long shot over the bar in the 19th. Barcelona was bound to Andres Iniesta's attacks along with Pedro's trial that struck the side-netting from a tight angle.
Lavezzi had a great opportunity in the 24th when Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who mastered as a playmaker in all game, drove him through the Barcelona defense. However, Valdes was able to obstruct the low ball he had aimed toward the goal while Pique rushed to clear the rebound.
PSG's flow unnerved Barcelona, which unusually started to blunder in its normal crisp passes. Lucas awarded the Camp Nou crowd with another challenge. He shot a header which Valdes smacked away after Ibrahimovic had pushed the Brazilian out in the area.
PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti regretted that one can argue that they shouldn't have been eliminated. In the first half they could have scored. They had two or three good probabilities and when they did score, they could have added another. He added that Messi was going on awarding his teammates and the fans a boost of confidence, although he wasn't 100 percent.
An intelligent dart by Lucas yielded Adriano a yellow card in the 42nd, awarding him a one-game suspension.
Pastore thrust PSG ahead when he encountered with Ibrahimovic on the break to bang the offside trap, before holding off Dani Alves and using his left foot to kick the ball over the sliding Valdes.
Messi instantly plunged into Barcelona's bench and soon began to warm up on the touchline to earn the applause from the home fans. After Dani Alves had shot high from inside the area, huge ovation greeted Messi when he proceeded for Cesc Fabregas. Barcelona reacted and began to pepper PSG's goal with shots from Pique and Iniesta. In the meantime, Messi missed his first chance when he lost control while fixing the target after a rebound had dropped to him in the box.
The Argentine soon made up for his miscue, though when he darted past two defenders into the area and surpassed for David Villa, who then shot the ball off to Pedro with a smart backpass that the forward flashed into the corner of the net with a left-footed strike to maintain the hosts' lead into the tie.
David Beckham commenced the first leg for PSG but Ancelotti left him on the field till the 83rd minute for Wednesday's match.
