Barcelona pulled off a remarkable Champions League comeback when Lionel Messi struck 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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Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri told Sky Italia: "It has been an extraordinary match from Barcelona but this is not the disastrous result it will maybe be depicted as but a chance to grow. To lose and go out after the first leg we produced at home upsets all of us but the lads shouldn't beat themselves up."
Lionel Messi is just a world class player. He took his game to a higher level yesternite.
He silenced all his critics.He made everyone believe in his quality. His talent is out of this world