Champions League PIX: Barca\, Liverpool ease through into quarters

Champions League PIX: Messi takes Barca into quarters; Liverpool through

Barcelona's Lionel Messi dribbles past Lyon's Anthony Lopes in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg match at Camp Nou on Wednesday

IMAGE: Barcelona's Lionel Messi dribbles past Lyon's Anthony Lopes in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg match at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

Lionel Messi lead the way with two goals and two assists as Barcelona reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in style by thrashing Olympique Lyonnais 5-1 at home on Wednesday and advancing by the same scoreline on aggregate.

Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.

 

Suarez then rounded Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes to lay on a perfect pass for the unmarked Philippe Coutinho to nudge into an open net and double Barca's lead, although Lyon hauled themselves back into contention with a second-half strike from Lucas Tousart.

Messi soon killed off any hopes of an unlikely comeback from the French side, however, carving his way through the defence to score in the 78th minute before toying with Lyon's back line twice more and laying off passes for Gerard Pique and then Ousmane Dembele to complete the rout.

"We played a great first half, then from a moment's distraction it was 2-1 and we had five or 10 delicate minutes," said Barca striker Suarez.

"We always knew it would be like this. The important thing is that we got the third goal and then we were far calmer."

Mane double helps Liverpool ease past Bayern into quarters

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk scores their second goal

IMAGE: Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk scores their second goal. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images via Reuters

Sadio Mane scored twice to hand Liverpool a 3-1 Champions League victory at Bayern Munich on Wednesday as they nullified their German opponents with a dominant performance that sent them through to the quarter-finals.

After the last-16 first leg ended goalless at Anfield, five-times European champions Liverpool took control in Munich, bossing the game to become the fourth English team into the last eight with their first away win in Europe this season.

What had the potential to be a thrilling encounter turned into a scrappy affair with both teams making mistakes in possession, but Bayern were prevented from applying sustained pressure and were picked off at key moments.

Mane opened the scoring, pouncing on a needless charge out of his goal by Manuel Neuer in his 100th Champions League appearance, to round the Bayern keeper with a superb turn before chipping his finish into the empty net in the 26th minute.

The German champions levelled 13 minutes later against the run of play when winger Serge Gnabry beat his marker and his cutback was turned into the goal by Liverpool defender Joel Matip.

Centre back Virgil van Dijk, who had missed the first leg last month, killed off any German hopes of a comeback when he rose high to head home in the 69th minute before Mane headed in his second in the 84th.