Barcelona vs Lyon. UEFA Champions League First Knockout Round.
Camp NouAttendance92,346.
Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele also score as Barcelona cruise into last eight
Thursday 14 March 2019 06:18, UK
Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted two as Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Lyon (5-1 on aggregate).
Messi converted from the spot (18) before Philippe Coutinho tapped in Barcelona's second just after the half-hour mark (31) to send Barcelona into a comfortable lead.
Lucas Tousart pulled one back from close range to give the visitors a glimmer of hope (58) after the break, but a second goal from Messi and a further two from Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele - both assisted by the Argentine - sent Barcelona through.
The La Liga champions will be joined by four English clubs in the Champions League quarter-final/semi-final draw which takes place on Friday morning at 11am.
Messi fired Barcelona's first warning shot in the sixth minute with a trademark curled strike aiming for the top corner, but Anthony Lopes acrobatically parried away.
Ten minutes later and Barcelona took the lead after former Manchester City and Sunderland defender Jason Denayer clumsily slid into Luis Suarez in the box. After a minute-long VAR delay, Messi stepped up and cooly delivered a panenka spot-kick down the middle.
With Barcelona dominating possession, and Lyon's back five getting picked apart after Moussa Dembele went close for the visitors with a deflected strike, the hosts made it two through Coutinho.
The former Liverpool forward tapped home after Suarez casually skipped by Fernando Marcal. And in the 33rd minute, Lopes came off in tears for Mathieu Gorgelin after suffering an earlier head injury.
Lyon pulled back a surprise consolation in the 58th minute when Tousart volleyed in from close range, but any signs of a comeback were cancelled out when Messi grabbed a second 20 minutes later as his finish, following a rapid counter-attack, squirmed past the backup goalkeeper.
With Lyon electing to finish the game with four forwards on the pitch, Barcelona grabbed another two goals in the final 10 minutes as the visitors' backline was cut open.
Gerard Pique slid in to tap home at the far post after Messi drove at the heart of Lyon's defence, seven minutes before Dembele was the grateful recipient of a Messi pass to convert Barcelona's fifth and cap off a ruthless display.
The night after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, Messi responded with a scintillating performance of his own against a Lyon side who had no clue on how to contain the formidable forward.
Not only was his penalty the epitome of composure, but he was instrumental in killing off any sign of a Lyon fightback with a second goal of his own before twice driving through the centre of Lyon's fragile defence to assist for his team-mates.
Barcelona travel to Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday evening. Lyon, meanwhile, host Montpellier on the same day in the afternoon.
