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Barca outclass Arsenal to reach last eight | Eurosport
Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona usurped 10-man Arsenal 3-1 at the Camp Nou to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 4-3 aggregate win. Xavi netted the home side's other goal in the second leg of the last 16 tie against an Arsenal side who had Robin van Persie sent off for a second bookable offence on 56 minutes for kicking the ball away.
Once again in the last eight | FCBarcelona
Barça have held on to their place in the elite of European football. The win against Arsenal means they are into the last eight of the Champions League for the 15th time in 21 appearances. They have reached this round in 7 of the last 11 editions.
Guardiola: “We absolutely dominated the game” | FCBarcelona
The Barça coach was able to conclude that as “we had 70% of the possession of the ball”, while Arsenal “didn’t have a shot on goal” and “didn’t string three passes together”, it was patently clear that Barça had played “an extraordinary match … ultimately a team qualifies for doing many things, and I think that overall, we were just better than them.”
White: Arsenal have no right to blame the ref | Eurosport
So what can we do? The first thing to point out is that technically Busacca did nothing wrong. The laws of the game obliged him to dismiss Van Persie. Kicking the ball after the whistle has sounded is a bookable offence, and, since he had already been cautioned, the moment he transgressed, he was not so much a gooner as a goner.
Barcelona So Brilliant And Yet So Close To Elimination Due To Wastefulness | Goal
Barcelona may have dominated Tuesday night’s Champions League encounter against Arsenal, outplaying the Premier League side by an absurd factor, but they equally came within a whisker of elimination.
The Barça avalanche in stats | FCBarcelona
There can be no discussion. The only team that wanted the ball and went looking for goal in the Champions League last 16 return leg was Barça. The match stats bear this out.
Alves: “The team that deserved it qualified” | FCBarcelona
The players, including full back Dani Alves, have given their impressions after qualifying for the Champions League quarter finals, and they generally agreed that they fully deserved to qualify.
Angry Arsenal never gave themselves a chance in Nou Camp | Eurosport
Arsenal will be forever convinced that Robin van Persie's red card cost them the chance of beating Barcelona but the truth is that they were overwhelmed, while contributing heavily to their own downfall.
Vanquished Wenger fumes over red card | Eurosport
However, Wenger said: "I felt Barca gave a lot in the first half. We were completely dominated, I agree with that. But in the second half we felt there was more space, I knew that like the first game we could come back into the game and overall I'm convinced we would have won this game.
Cesc takes the blame | ESPN
After the match Cesc Fabregas wrote on Twitter: "Great support from the arsenal fans. I take full blame for the result tonight. One of the worst moments of my life. I apologise." Fellow midfielders Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere also took to Twitter to register their disappointment at the referee's performance.
Van Persie hits out at 'joke' ref | ESPN
"It's just a joke. He's been bad all evening. He's been a joke all evening, whistling against us. I don't know why he's here tonight. I think it's a joke." He added: "We feel betrayed a bit. When it was 1-1, it was all to play for, and in my opinion the ref killed the game."
Every Decision Referee Massimo Busacca Got Wrong - And Right - In Barcelona - Arsenal | Goal
But it is not just the Gunners who will feel hard done by the referee as Barcelona will claim they had a couple of key decisions go against them over the 90 minutes, so Goal.com UK takes a look back at the key incidents from the game in the Camp Nou to see whether Arsenal really got a raw deal from the referee or whether the decisions even out over the course of the match...
Arsenal Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny Fears His Season Could Be Over After Sustaining Finger Injury Against Barcelona | Goal
The Poland international had to be withdrawn during the first-half of the Champions League second-round second leg tie at the Nou Camp and told a Sky Sports reporter at half-time that he feared the injury was a ruptured tendon.
Borriello apologises for Roma rout | Eurosport
The Ukrainians reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 3-0 win in their home second leg on Tuesday but Borriello's 28th-minute penalty miss at 1-0 was a turning point given Roma had started the game well.
Kaka out for 15 days with knee injury | Eurosport
Kaka, who made his first appearance of the season for the Spanish club in January, had a series of tests which revealed the extent of the knee problem, the team said on their website on Tuesday.
Higuain could face Barca | Sky Sports
Real Madrid were sure that Higuain would not play again this term, which prompted their search for a striker and the eventual signing of Emmanuel Adebayor. However, off-the-field Higuain has been making excellent progress and a target has emerged as the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on April 20th.
Hercules To Discuss Possible Loan Deal For Real Madrid's Pedro Leon - Report | Goal
The former Getafe midfielder has struggled to break into Jose Mourinho's team with Angel Di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo holding down the two wide attacking positions for most of the season. With Ronaldo injured for the last fixture against Racing Santander, Pedro still missed out as coach Jose Mourinho opted to play Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor together in attack.