Best of the last 16

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 21st February 2008  

Team of the weekend

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Best of the last 16

Messi: Brilliant for Barca

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Game - Liverpool 2 Internazionale 0

Dumped out of the FA Cup by Barnsley at the weekend, Liverpool responded with a superb display to ease the pressure on Rafa Benitez, although they were aided by the early dismissal of Marco Materazzi. Internazionale, top of Serie A and unbeaten in exactly five months, were made to look ordinary as The Reds dominated from the start. The Anfield faithful may have feared that a goal was never going to come as Inter resisted everything Liverpool threw at them, but Dirk Kuyt struck five minutes from time and Steven Gerrard added a stunning second to set up a fascinating second leg.

Player - Lionel Messi

The Argentine was at his brilliant best at Parkhead as he inspired Barcelona to come from behind and beat Gordon Strachan's side 3-2. He proved once more there is nobody more adept at unlocking a defence as he played a one-two with Deco and smashed a shot past Artur Boruc to make it 1-1. He later grabbed the winner with a beautiful piece of skill to escape from Gary Caldwell, followed by a cool finish into the bottom corner.

Goal - Thierry Henry

Between Messi's two goals against Celtic came a magnificent strike from Henry. The former Arsenal forward has been inconsistent since he moved to Barcelona last summer but a return to Britain helped him rediscover his usual swagger. His goal was trademark Henry as he picked up possession on the edge of the area, opened his body up, and curled a delightful effort into the far top corner.

Pass - Jens Lehmann

Goalkeepers rarely get recognised for their ability to pick out a pass but Lehmann almost set up a goal for Emmanuel Adebayor against Milan. An Olympic javelin thrower would have been proud of the way Lehmann flung the ball well beyond the halfway line to release his striker, but his efforts were not rewarded as Milan defenders raced back to avert the danger.

Controversy - Materazzi red card

Inter were left battling against an inspired Liverpool and an extra man after Materazzi was dismissed after just 30 minutes for two soft fouls on Fernando Torres. His first looked like an accidental clip of the heels, although his decision to tug back the Spaniard after he had already been given a yellow card perhaps means there should be little sympathy for the defender. Liverpool will also feel they should have had a penalty in the second half when Patrick Vieira handled a Gerrard cross.

Miss - Lisandro Lopez

Lopez spurned a glorious opportunity to grab a late away goal for Porto against Schalke in Germany. Raul Meireles hit a cross from the left which Ricardo Quaresma met at the far post. The ball found Lopez five yards out and he had a free shot on goal, but he could not connect properly and his effort went wide.

Save - Julio Cesar

The Inter keeper was eventually beaten by a deflected Kuyt shot and a Gerrard piledriver, but he had earlier pulled off a superb save to deny Fernando Torres. The Liverpool striker burst through the middle and directed his shot firmly towards the bottom corner, but Cesar sprung to his right to tip the ball inches past the post.

Moment - Ryan Giggs

Giggs made his 100th appearance in the Champions League in the 1-1 draw with Lyon. The Welshman was named captain for the match at Stade Gerland and produced an impressive performance to suggest there will be plenty more European nights to enjoy with United.

Comments (7)

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Greg Hili (roma fan) says...

i find it scandalous that Roma's Mancini is not included in the Team of the Week; he made one, he scored one, and had it not been for the below-par perfromances of our other attacking minded midfeidlers it could have been more.

Posted 08:03 22nd February 2008

Waheed Balogun (Arsenal fan) says...

Adebayor miss is a heart breaker !

Posted 08:00 22nd February 2008

Andy Copton (Stoke City fan) says...

Why is a Manchester United player always picked? And why the Bias towards the british teams? The wrst miss was easily Adebayor's, and i feel that despite it being Giggsy's 100th CL game, the fact he never performed at all wore over that. Maybe it should have gone to Bryan Robson of Celtic, or maybe someone else, but certainly not Giggs going by the performance he put in.

Posted 14:05 21st February 2008

Aidan Donovan says...

When you see Liverpool put in a performance like they did against Inter you have to wonder why they can't play like that in the league. Over the last few years Liverpol have been superb in Europe over two legs. They have set themselves up nicely for the San Siro leg. Liverpool away from home in Europe can be a tight defensive unit they surely must be favourtes. I'm not surprised to see Masherano in the team of the week, they must sign him, he is superb one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Posted 13:25 21st February 2008

Alex Strande (Manchester United fan) says...

Why aint Adebayor this week's miss??

Posted 13:22 21st February 2008

Bo Sandberg (Arsenal fan) says...

I didnīt see the mentioned Porto "miss of the week" against Schalke, but it has to be a very very extraordinary one (!) - because seen from The Gooners section of Copenhagen, THAT Adebayor crossbar-header is surely a tough contender to be the miss of the entire season.

Posted 12:58 21st February 2008

Paddy Mcmenamin (Celtic fan) says...

Is there anybody else out there who thinks that Gary Caldwell is a walking disaster for Celtic? Once again he has committed a basic schoolboy error and handed the initiative back to the opposition. Does Strachan think that being a Scotland International makes Caldwell a great player? Strachan tries to fill the team with Scottish players and it is a disaster. Whats his problem with Balde? You can accept being played off the field by the best team in the world, no shame in that, but for all their magnificent skills, the match was still level until Caldwell hands the goal to Henry. Don't like criticising individual players but as the great Stein said, 'The Celtic jersey dosen't shrink to fit inferior players'!

Posted 12:28 21st February 2008
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