London: Lionel Messi left Arsenal spellbound as the Barcelona striker’s clinical double sealed a 2-0 last 16, first leg victory that put the Champions League holders firmly on course for the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
In another match, super-sub Stefano Sturaro came off the bench to hit a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich as outclassed Juventus rescued their tie.
Barca coach Luis Enrique joked this week that all he needed to do was shout ‘Abracadabra’ for Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to deliver the kind of magic display that would bewilder the Gunners.
On this occasion, it was Messi who answered his coach’s call with a second-half brace as the Spanish champions survived a stern examination from Arsene Wenger’s side to escape the Emirates Stadium with a result likely to condemn the hosts to a sixth successive last-16 exit.
The leaders of La Liga, chasing a sixth European Cup triumph, are now unbeaten in 33 games in all competitions — a blistering streak that includes 14 wins from their last 15 games.
After being dazzled by Messi’s magic wand, it will take an act of astonishing escapology for Arsenal to go through in the return leg at the Camp Nou on March 16.
“I liked everything about us today from the very beginning,” Enrique said. “I liked the way we scored and we had plenty of possession. “Our opponents defended with every player in their own half but we still managed to hamper them.” Wenger added: “Barcelona are a great team. The regret I had was we looked like we could dominate the game, then we give the goal away. “Realistically it is very, very difficult, if not impossible (to make the quarter-finals).”Aware that Arsenal’s refusal to curb their attacking instincts had left them fatally vulnerable in the Champions League knockout stages, Wenger set out to stifle Barca with a cautious game-plan.
Nacho Monreal had clearly taken Wenger’s words to heart and he earned an early booking for chopping down Ivan Rakitic.
But there was more than just mindless muscle to Arsenal’s approach in the match. Aaron Ramsey sent Mesut Ozil clear down the left edge of the penalty area with an exquisite backheel and then raced onto the German’s return pass for a powerful shot that was blocked by the visitors.
Only a last-ditch block denied Hector Bellerin, with the rebound falling to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Dominant Bayern left disappointed
Bayern dominated throughout a one-sided encounter at a packed Juventus Stadium and took a 43rd-minute lead through Thomas Mueller.
Arjen Robben doubled the Germans’ advantage on 55 minutes but the 2013 champions paid for a series of earlier misses when Paulo Dybala netted on the hour and Sturaro hit a dramatic leveller 14 minutes from time.
It leaves the tie still very much alive, although on this performance Pep Guardiola’s men will be favourites to secure their last-eight place after the second leg in three weeks’ time.
Guardiola, however, is taking nothing for granted. “Juventus made it to last year’s final, not us. We’re not dealing with a team from the provinces,” said the Spaniard, who admitted he was highly impressed with Bayern’s display.
Guardiola, who will take over at Manchester City in the summer, added: “I’m really happy with how we played. It’s one of the matches from my career that I want to remember the most.”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri could not say the same, admitting his side had been error-strewn in the opening half.
“In the first half they pushed us hard in our own half and we just couldn’t settle.
We started making a lot of mistakes with our passes, but let’s not forget we were playing Bayern,” said the Italian.
