Barcelona pulled off a remarkable Champions League comeback when Lionel Messi scored twice in a thrilling 4-0 home win over AC Milan on Tuesday that sent the Spaniards through to the last eight 4-2 on aggregate.
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Trailing from last month's last 16, first leg at the San Siro, Barca were ahead in the fifth minute at a raucous Nou Camp thanks to Messi's brilliant curling effort and the World Player of the Year levelled the tie on aggregate five minutes before halftime with a powerful low drive.
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Barca ruthlessly dominated the Italians, who struggled to get the ball out of their own half for long periods, and David Villa struck a third for the hosts 10 minutes after the break before Jordi Alba killed off Milan with a breakaway goal in the second minute of added time.
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Barca are the first team in the Champions League to ever overturn a two-goal first leg deficit without the benefit of an away goal while only four sides had successfully fought back from a deficit of more than one goal.
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"We started really fired up, as you have seen. The early goal helped us a lot, but it was something we looked for from the first minute," Villa told Spanish television.
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"We believed we could do it from the first minute, in
fact from the final whistle of the last game.
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"We are delighted for the fans. We always believed we could do it. For them, and with them, we have done it."
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Roared on by close to 90 000 supporters inside their giant arena, fired-up Barca harried and hassled Milan from the start.
Galatasaray are lucky to have the kind of players they have. The players gave them the game
The goal was fantastico!