Lionel Messi 'key to Barca success'

A Lionel Messi brace helped Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over 10-man Arsenal on Tuesday to put them into the quarter-finals of Champions League on a 4-3 aggregate. The Argentine World Player of the Year was the difference as Barcelona produced another outstanding display of attacking football which left the Arsenal defence stretched from beginning to end. The Catalan side needed just one goal after losing 2-1 at the Emirates and Messi put them ahead in first-half stoppage time.

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted Barcelona will not have it all their own way when they meet his Manchester United side in next month's Champions League final at Wembley.While both teams are on the brink of winning their respective domestic titles it is Barcelona, who defeated United in the 2009 final, that are widely regarded as the pre-eminent club currently playing in Europe.The Catalans boast the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, two key players in Spain's World Cup-winning side last year, while Lionel Messi is already being hailed as one of football's all-time greats.

Barcelona played some of their best attacking football of the season as they beat Getafe 3-1 to keep the pressure on Real Madrid at the top of the table.David Villa should have put Barca in the lead after just four minutes but Messi, at the heart of the majority of their best moves, put them on their way mid-way through the first half, slotting home from a Villa pass.Villa was flagged off-side in front of goal after a delightful move involving Messi and Andres Iniesta but he did get on the score sheet minutes later with a clinical finish.

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal will stick to their purist principles when they take on Barcelona in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.Reigning champions Barcelona are well established as the most eye-catching team in Europe after Lionel Messi, Xavi, Thierry Henry and company produced a series of dazzling displays en route to the treble last season.Even teams with the quality of Chelsea and Manchester United opted for a cautious gameplan when they met Pep Guardiola's side in the Champions League.

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta will miss Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Arsenal and is a doubt for the return leg on April 6 due to a thigh injury, the club said on Sunday.The 25-year-old Spanish international picked up the injury during the European champions' 1-0 win at Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday.He came off with a thigh muscle problem in the 49th minute and was replaced by Argentine international Lionel Messi.

Argentinian Lionel Messi won the Ballon D'Or for the second successive year here on Monday beating his more favoured Barcelona team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.The 23-year-old - the first player to win back-to-back awards since Marco van Basten in 1988/89 - had been seen as the outsider after a modest World Cup where he failed to score and Argentina went out in the quarter-finals.Iniesta and Xavi both had outstanding World Cups with the former scoring the only goal in the 1-0 World Cup final victory over Holland.

Argentinian Lionel Messi won the Ballon D'Or for the second successive year here on Monday beating his more favoured Barcelona team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.The 23-year-old - the first player to win back-to-back awards since Marco van Basten in 1988/89 - had been seen as the outsider after a modest World Cup.Iniesta and Xavi both had outstanding World Cups with the former scoring the only goal in the 1-0 World Cup final victory over Holland.

Reigning champions Barcelona clinched a place in the Champions League knockout stage with a 2-1 win over hosts Dynamo Kiev here on Wednesday, Lionel Messi netting an 86th-minute goal to secure top spot in their group.Forward Artem Milevsky fired Kiev into an early lead, but Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez levelled 12 minutes before the break.Dynamo, who desperately needed to win to continue their campaign, got off to a flying start through Milevsky, who beat Victor Valdes with a close-range header from Andrei Shevchenko's well-struck freekick in the second minute.