Lionel Messi lifted Barcelona into the Champions League semifinals with what will be remembered as one of the great games of his still young career, with two chips, a rocket and a bit of nutmeg giving the reigning champions a deserved 4-1 win.
This was not a replay of the master-class the Catalans had staged just a week prior at Emirates, just one of individual brilliance. Messi’s four-goal performance eviscerated an under-strength Arsenal side.
At the early game in Moscow, Inter Milan sauntered into the Champions League semifinals 1-0 (2-0 aggregate) against an undisciplined CSKA side jeered off their pitch. Sparked by an early goal from Wesley Sneijder, Inter took the lead for good in just the sixth minute, and killed the clock. Reduced to ten men after the ejection of Chidi Odiah, CSKA were never able to trouble the Italians.
With tonight’s results, Inter Milan now will face Barcelona in two weeks for a shot at the final in May, and the Special One will have to figure out how to contain a special player.
Wish him luck.
Barcelona, as expected, rolled to the semifinals tonight at Camp Nou. As expected, Messi was the hero.
That doesn’t tell the whole story. No one expected a depleted Arsenal side missing (at least) five starters to suspension or injury to deflate Barcelona’s a potent passing attack. They did that for much of the game, transforming what many thought of as a fait accompli into a riveting display that needed the undisputed world’s greatest player to break the deadlock.
Arsenal, without Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin — or any sort of credible backups — showed tremendous energy right from the start. Some partisans will argue Barcelona were missing players too (they didn’t have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gerard Pique or Carles Puyol) but they also weren’t forced to name obscure youth players Craig Eastmond and Fran Merida to their 18-man squad, as Arsenal was.
Despite the holes, Arsenal closed down Barcelona and seized a remarkable, if short-lived lead. The goal came from Nicklas Bendter, continuing a remarkable run of form. Diggging out what seemed to be a lost chance in the 18th minute, Bendtner’s goal signaled that the Gunners not only had showed up, but could actually win this thing.
Abou Diaby pounced on a loose ball in midfield coughed up by Gabriel Milito and sent the ball long to a wide-open and definitely on-side Theo Walcott. With a two-on-two break against Victor Valdes and Daniel Alves, Walcott seemed to make a soft pass that gave Bentdner a difficult shot on goal that the 'keeper smothered. But, getting off the ground, the big Dane was able to recover and slice the ball into the net.
That also would be the end of Arsenal’s magic.
Two minutes later, Messi scored off his own rebound. Mikael Silvestre was caught wrong-footed and tapped the ball back into the Argentine’s path. Messi easily beat Manuel Almunia with a left-footed rocket that flared the net. It was just the beginning of a virtuoso show.
Messi started and finished the second goal with the insouciance that has made him inarguably the world’s greatest player. Chipping the ball wide to a surging Eric Abidal in the box, Messi then rushed forward to collect from Pedro Rodriguez after Silvestre once again was too slow to clear the ball. Left alone on the right side, Messi poked it home with his right foot, leaving Almunia disconsolate.
Five minutes later, Rafa Marquez swung the ball out left to Seydou Keita, who headed it on to an unmarked Messi kept on by Gael Clichy. This time, Messi rushed Almunia and chipped it over him coolly with a little tap of his left foot.
It was a hat trick in 21 minutes. The game was over.
The fourth Messi goal, almost an aftethought, came late in the match, when he decided to drive into the Arsenal area, saw his first shot saved, and then slid the ball between Almunia’s legs.
Arsenal fans should not feel too hard done by. They took a team of youngsters, held together by duct-tape, to within a game of the European Cup semifinals. They continued to fight, and to claw, and showed a heart that has been missing too often in the recent past. Because of that pressure and presence, Barcelona was largely unable to ignite the quick-passing game that dismantles so many opponents. They have looked proud, and maybe even a bit special at times this year. Perhaps they finally are the team of the future.
And Barcelona? A week after they won the game but got a draw out of it, tonight they showed that they are the best club in Europe, by miles. They did not allow Arsenal to steal anything in the final twenty minutes, and played out the match. This club deserves to be in the semifinals. They may just deserve to be the first team to defend their title in the modern era.
Inter reached the semifinals for the first time in seven years in a game that was just too easy. A better team might be able to prise Inter apart with quicker passing and sharper handling. CSKA Moscow isn’t that team.
The Muscovites got behind way to early when CSKA’s Sergei Ignashevich committed a foolish foul on Diego Milito at the edge of the area, allowing Sneijder an attempt from distance just six minutes into the match. Sneijder’s low free kick was poorly handled by the wall, and the shot skipped under Japan’s Keisuke Honda to crash past Igor Akinfeev.
The second half saw matters get worse for CSKA, when Odiah was ejected (two yellows) after a horrible foul against Samuel Eto’o, reducing the homers to ten men.
Inter realized early on that CSKA couldn’t handle the ball in midfield, and thus couldn’t hurt them, and proceeded to spend large spells of the match passing the ball back and forth to play the clock out. It was not pretty, but it was effective. Dejan Stankovic and Esteban Cambiasso are so good at collapsing space that teams daring to keep their lines high quickly find themselves without the ball and looking over their shoulder at Milito, racing toward their own net (one wonders what his brother, Barcelona defender Gabriel, will do against him).
CSKA, of course, was making its debut in the Champions League quarters, and trying to become the first Russian side in the modern era to reach the semifinals. But despite possessing some talented parts, on the balance of these two legs, they still lack the guile and finesse needed at the highest level. On the plastic surface in Moscow, the latter is difficult and the former is absent CSKA’s toolbox.
Tonight absent Milos Krasic and Evgeni Aldonin, shown cards last week in Milan, CSKA clearly were lacking their purest midfield creator, and were unable to stretch Inter’s defense. While Lucio and Samuel were busy in the center of the Milan defense, keeper Julio Cesar was rarely tested, and Moscow’s lack of width gave Javier Zanetti a relatively calm evening out.
Mark Gonzalez, still young at 25, was unable to control the ball deep, neutering his runs down the left flank, and forcing the trailing Honda to do more of the heavy lifting, but he at least showed up. Pavel Mamaev was absent the entire night on the right wing, forcing Tomas Necid to attempt to dribble himself into scoring position. Against Jose Mourinho’s tough defense, he was unable to do anything in his 70 minutes.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the Champions League and European football.
