Barcelona vs Arsenal : Five Things We Learned
By Vijay Vemu
Two Lionel Messi goals in 12 minutes help Barcelona to take big advantage in Champions League tie
It certainly wasn’t a dominating performance from Barcelona but they got the job done. Barcelona were able to grab a 2-0 win at Arsenal in the first leg of the Round of 16. It took two second half goals from Lionel Messi and the Catalans were able to snatch crucial away goals to keep the tie in their favor.
It was a nervy first half for both teams as Barcelona dominated possession but Arsenal were getting the better chances. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a chance right in front of goal but shot it straight at Barca keeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Barcelona’s best chance of the half came off a Luis Suarez half volley. He was played in by Neymar and struck it well, but it went just wide of the post.
The second half was more of the same as Arsenal had the better chances as the game hit the 70th minute mark. It looked like the Gunners were sure to score. But then Barcelona hit Arsenal on a counter as MSN struck again. The counter was finished off by Lionel Messi as he scored his 6th and 7th goal against Arsenal tonight. The second goal came a little later as Messi was taken down inside the box by Mathieu Flamini in what was a very poorly thought out challenge. A penalty was given and Messi slotted it past Petr Cech, who went the opposite direction. They nearly added a third as Neymar’s header was denied by Cech.
But in the end it was a great first leg for Barcelona. Here are five things we learned.
Next: 5. Marc-Andre ter Stegen's keeping