Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a
Champions League tie as Barcelona routed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 to reach
the quarter-finals with a crushing 10-2 aggregate win on Wednesday.Messi
bettered his previous record of four against Arsenal two seasons ago
and now has 12 goals from seven Champions League matches after a
majestic attacking performance from the World Player of the Year.Trailing
3-1 from the first leg it was always going to be a tough task for Bayer
with Barca unbeaten in 13 European home games and they never appeared
likely to end that run.Messi struck twice before the break and
then hit a further three after the restart while youngster Christian
Tello also grabbed a brace. In the final minute Karim Bellarabi scored for a shell-shocked German side."You
can expect anything from Leo," said teammate Cesc Fabregas. "He is the
best player in history, we have never seen anyone like him."He
didn't play at the weekend (Messi was suspended) and he wanted to do
well. He enjoys being on the pitch and we are happy to have him."Barcelona
were without Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal in defence and Alexis Sanchez
was also in the treatment room after pulling up with a strain in the
weekend 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon.Bayer coach Robin Dutt said beforehand that his team would go out to enjoy themselves without any pressure on their shoulders.But
once the game was underway there was little chance for the Germans to
savour the moment of playing at the Camp Nou as they were immediately
pegged back.Barca had an incredible 72 percent possession playing away in the first leg and quickly took control of the ball. They
went close to taking the lead after ten minutes when Messi scampered
onto a delightful lob by Fabregas but his shot from a tight angle was
saved by goalkeeper Bernd Leno and then a follow-up drive from Pedro
Rodriguez was blocked by a defender.Andres Iniesta has been in
good form and forced several fouls on the edge of the Bayer area, one
leading to a yellow card for Simon Rolfes and another to a free-kick
which Leno had to block from Xavi Hernandez.Bayer were caught out
from one of their rare forays forward with Barca winning possession
back and then a Xavi ball, from inside his own half, set up Messi to
score the opener after 25 minutes. The Argentine beat the offside trap and lobbed the helpless keeper.There
was no let up in the Barca onslaught and an apparently miss-hit pass
from Adriano again found Messi but his shot from the edge of the area
was blocked. Three minutes before the break and Barca did get
their second as Messi feinted one way and then the other before slotting
the ball into the corner from 18 yards.Messi claimed his hat-trick soon after the re-start from another lob with the German defence failing to track his run. Fabregas knocked the ball over the top and Messi chipped the keeper with his supposedly weaker right foot.With
important games ahead, Barca coach Pep Guardiola chose to take off
Iniesta and Xavi after 52 minutes with Tello and Seydou Keita coming on.But
there was no let up in Barca's thrust and the night went from bad to
worse for an already dejected Bayer who had only fleeting glimpses of
the ball.They created their first chance nine minutes into the
second half when Eren Derdiyok saw a shot from the tightest of angles go
wide but then immediately the ball went to the other end of the pitch
and Tello added Barca's fourth. He latched onto a Fabregas pass and then showed composure belying his 20 years to calmly slot the ball past the keeper.Bayer
had lost their composure at the back and then Leno, who was having a
night to forget between the posts, gifted the ball to Messi who slipped
the ball in from a tight angle for his fourth.The keeper was
again at fault as he allowed a weak Tello shot to squirm underneath him
after 61 minutes and could do nothing to stop Messi's fifth with six
minutes to go as he again finished clinically.In the 90th minute Bellarabi did manage to register a goal for Bayer, curling the ball into the corner.
Source: AFP