Barcelona proved too good for Lyon as they won 5-2 at the Camp Nou and booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Henry fires home twice as Barcelona move into last eight
Barcelona proved far too strong for French champions Lyon as they won 5-2 at the Camp Nou and booked their place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Having drawn 1-1 in Lyon two weeks ago, Barca knew they could not afford any slip ups and they dominated from the start in Catalunya.
Lyon barely saw the ball in the first half and Barca raced into four-goal lead.
Thierry Henry, looking back to his majestic best, slotted two goals in as many minutes - before Lionel Messi finished a wonderful individual effort.
Samuel Eto'o slammed home the fourth and Barca were cruising - although Lyon pulled one back just before the break as Jean Makoun headed home a corner.
In the second half Juninho fired home within minutes to give Lyon hope of a comeback - but it was not to be and the Brazilian's night got worse in injury time as he was shown a red card for a second booking.
Barca also had time to add further to their tally as substitute Seydou Keita waltzed through before firing home and sealing an impressive 6-3 aggregate win.
After Barca dominated the opening period, a quick-fire double from Henry took the match away from Lyon.
After 25 minutes he latched onto a ball over the top from Rafael Marquez, beating the offside trap to slide the ball under Hugo Lloris.
Two minutes later Henry doubled the lead. He was put through by Xavi and slid the ball in at the near post past the advancing Lloris.
All about Messi
The third was all about Messi as he showed his class in the 40th minute. The Argentina star collected the ball on the right touchline, before embarking on a mazy run past five Lyon defenders.
He then exchanged a one-two with Eto'o, before firing a low shot home.
By this point Eto'o was desperate to get on the scoresheet himself as he stormed into the box from the left, only to see his shot saved by Lloris from point-blank range.
Within a minute, though, he had made amends as he popped up in the box, side-stepped his marker and smashed the ball home.
Barca were thoroughly dominant but Lyon managed to make some home hearts flutter as they mounted a comeback either side of half-time.
A minute from the break, Makoun made it 4-1 as he headed home Juninho's corner.
And the former Brazil midfielder got on the scoresheet himself three minutes after the break following a cross from Cesar Delgado.
Any thoughts of a comeback soon crumbled though, as Barca continued to create a raft of chances, Henry having a low shot saved by the keeper when through one-on-one, while Messi could have bagged himself a hat-trick.
At the other end Karim Benzema fired a left-foot shot over the bar from 12 yards.
As the game moved, into stoppage time, Juninho picked up a second booking for dissent and moments later Keita made it five for Barca.
The Mali midfielder was played through by Xavi and took the ball past the out-rushing Lloris before dispatching the ball into the back of the net.
| Barcelona |
Team Statistics |
Lyon |
| 5 |
Goals |
2 |
| 4 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 8 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 6 |
Corners |
1 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
27 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
5 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 86.9 |
Passing Success |
72.3 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 75 |
Tackles Success |
78.1 |
| 62.4 |
Possession |
37.6 |
| 68.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
31.6 |
|
