Messi Lifts Barça Off The Canvas

Barcelona booked their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals for the seventh straight year after beating Manchester City 4-1 on aggregate. The 'Azulgranas' may not be favourites, but they remain firmly in the running to lift the trophy for the fourth time in a decade.

Though it was Dani Alves who made it 2-1 in stoppage time, a sucker punch that rendered City's 89th-minute consolation effort even hollower, Messi was once again the star of the show. The Argentine seized on Lescott's gaffe to give Barça the lead, hit the post in the second half, should have had a penalty before the break and even busted a gut for his side defensively.

Having left City down for the count with the 2-0 first-leg win in Manchester, Barça weren't forced to work too hard to knock the Sky Blues out.

 Notwithstanding the odd moment of uncertainty, particularly in the second half, Tata Martino's men were hardly ever on the ropes, though they didn't exactly come out swinging either.

Ultimately, it was a bout that told us more about City's continued European struggles than about Barça, who went into the game under pressure following a series of poor performances and results in the league. Manuel Pellegrini's side singularly failed to test the under-fire 'Azulgranas' and perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night was the performance of Kun Agüero, who was virtually anonymous on his return from the injury that kept him out of the first leg.