Barcelona claim another big European victory

Barcelona again proved their quality with a 3-1 victory over AC Milan in the second leg of their Champions League quarter final tie.

Barcelona wasn’t even at their best but to they still managed to progress past the Italians champions.

Penalties

Barcelona were awarded two first half penalties, which Lionel Messi coolly converted.

I have heard a number of people complaining that the penalties shouldn’t have been awarded and that the referee was biased. That argument is completely ridiculous.

In my opinion the referee got both decisions spot on and it was hard to argue with the calls. The two players who committed the fouls should have known better to produce such crazy challenges in the penalty area.

Veteran Italian defender Alessandro Nesta has been outstanding throughout his career but shoving over Sergio Busquets in the area was very silly indeed.

He was always the wrong side of the midfielder and he knew the referee was watching. He should also know about Busquets habits of going down very easily, yet still decided to push the Spanish international over in the area, one word idiotic. Nesta never had any intention of getting the ball and deserved all he got.

If anybody doubted those two calls then we can go back to the first leg at San Siro and say that AC Milan were lucky not to concede two spot kicks.

Deserved

Take away the controversy over the two penalties and there is no denying that Barcelona was the better team over two legs. Even AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri admitted that Barcelona deserved to win overall.

They were the side trying to play attacking football, while AC Milan almost reverted to the old Italian stereotype of defending for most of a game and hoping to snatch a goal on the counter-attack.

You have to give AC Milan a bit of credit for the way they set their team up though. The Rossoneri tried to pressure Barca high up the field in both legs and at times managed to subdue Barcelona. Unfortunately for Milan, Barcelona were just too good for them in the end.

Record

The two goals from the spot for Lionel Messi took the little Argentinian onto 51 European club career goals. He is the youngest player ever to reach that total in European competition. Messi just keeps breaking those records and hammering home the goals.

Messi is simply incredible and just like Barcelona he wasn’t even at his free-flowing best last night, yet still caused the AC Milan defence numerous problems. I don’t think there is anything more I can say about the boy from Rosario that hasn’t already been said, he is simply fantastic to watch.

Vulnerable

Despite Barcelona going through AC Milan did make the Barca defence look vulnerable at times during the tie. Other teams may have taken advantage of these vulnerabilities. I’m sure Pep Guardiola is well aware of his sides deficiencies and is trying to work out a way of solving them.

Playing with three in defence can make them vulnerable at the back. However it really would be nit-picking to say that their defence is poor after they have just won such an important game.

Adversaries

Barcelona could face Premier League Chelsea in the next round and that promises to be some tie. Chelsea have still got to negotiate a quarter-final with Benfica, but the Blues hold a 1-0 lead heading into tonight’s clash with the Portuguese side at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea and Barcelona have played each other numerous times in recent Champions League history and the games have always proved to be highly entertaining and I’m sure another meeting of the two would be just as entertaining.

Big

The last four round-up of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and potentially Chelsea would mean its anybodies guess at whom is going to win the trophy. These are four of the biggest clubs in Europe and even with Chelsea having a bad season they are still a strong team.

Barcelona wasn’t at their best against AC Milan but they will probably have to up their game if they are to claim the trophy. Both Real and Bayern have cruised through to this stage, so even if they do win the semi final the final will be a difficult, especially against arch-rivals Los Blancos.

However, I stick to my pre-season prediction that Barcelona will win the Champions League. They may have some difficult games to come but they have the quality to go all the way. More importantly they have a little man from Argentina that is writing his name into the folklore of football.

Will Barcelona go on to win the Champions League?