There was a huge surprise in the Barcelona line-up for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich as Lionel Messi started on the bench.
Messi didn't look 100% fit in Barca's 4-0 hammering in the first leg last week but had come on as a second-half substitute to score against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and seemed set to start as Barca went in search of an unlikely comeback.
Cesc Fabregas took his place in the false nine position, whilst Adriano and Alex Song replaced the suspended Jordi Alba and injured Sergio Busquets.
Bayern made two changes from the first leg as Daniel Van Buyten started ahead of Dante at the back, whilst Mario Mandzukic replaced Mario Gomez in attack.
Starting line-ups
Barcelona:
Victor Valdes; Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Marc Bartra, Adriano; Xavi Hernandez (c), Alex Song, Andres Iniesta; Pedro Rodriguez, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa
Coach: Tito Vilanova
Bayern Munich:
Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm (c), Jerome Boateng, Daniel Van Buyten, David Alaba; Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez; Arjen Robben, Thomas Mueller, Franck Ribery, Mario Mandzukic
Coach: Jupp Heynckes
Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Source: AFP
