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As it happenedended1555456014

Barcelona vs Man Utd: Lionel Messi fires Spaniards into Champions League semi-finals

Relive all of the drama

Harry Latham-Coyle
Tuesday 16 April 2019 20:50 BST
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Barcelona v Man Utd: Champions League match preview

Lionel Messi delivered another reminder of his enduring star quality as Barcelona quashed Manchester United's hopes of another improbable Champions League comeback at the Nou Camp.

United had overcome a two-goal deficit at Paris St Germain last month but Messi's first-half brace and a wonder strike from Philippe Coutinho ushered Barcelona towards a 3-0 victory, 4-0 on aggregate, at the ground of one of the Premier League side's greatest triumphs.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was insistent that the 1999 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich would have no bearing on this quarter-final second leg and his remarks proved accurate.

While his side made an energetic start, with Marcus Rashford denied by the goal frame within seconds of kick-off, Barcelona became more proactive and Messi, as he so often has done in the past, took top billing.

Relive all of the drama below.


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Team News - JUVENTUS vs Ajax

Emre Can starts in midfield and Mattia De Sciglio at right-back for Juventus, with Joao Cancelo and Rodrigo Bentancur dropping to the bench.

Paulo Dybala starts up front.

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:05
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Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:06
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Plenty of pace in the Manchester United team, then. You suspect Barcelona will dominate possession, and in Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford they'll have to wary of the counter-attack, presuming they lose the ball, which seemingly didn't happen in the last 15 minutes of the first leg. 

Sir Alex Ferguson has been pacing out the pitch. He thinks they've made it wider. They haven't, apparently. Still, wonderful to see him in fine health and ready, along with a number of great United faces past and present, for a massive game of football. 

(That's the back of Gary Neville's head, by the way. Probably best not to take tips from him on how to win at the Nou Camp.)

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:16
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Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:19
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Ominous.

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:23
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A bold prediction from Miguel Delaney, settling in at the Camp Nou and welcoming all your angry tweets in response...

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:26
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If you fancy channelling your rage at Miguel's prediction into something meaningful, vote in this most consequential of Twitter polls. No-one will even know if you're wrong! 

Who do you think will progress this evening? 

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:31
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It could be a busy night for this man, but there are few better equipped to combat Lionel Messi and co than David De Gea. Mind you, Jan Oblak was quite astonishing between the sticks for Atletico the weekend before last and still came out on the losing side...

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:33
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Real Madrid may have exited the tournament earlier than anticipated, but Cristiano Ronaldo is seeking a fourth consecutive Champions League and will be keen to vanquish his old side's conquerors. 

It could be a remodelled Ajax back four with Nicolas Tagliafico suspended. Can Ronaldo capitalise? 

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:36
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It really is a massive night of football.

Four of Europe's biggest clubs going hammer and tongs with semi-final berths on the line.

What more could you want?

Kick-off is 20 minutes away...

Harry Latham-Coyle16 April 2019 19:41

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