Barcelona Hit Man City as PSG Rout Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League Last 16

La Liga heavyweights Barcelona and their Ligue 1 counterparts, Paris Saint Germain, put themselves in the driving seat in their Champions League knockout stage ties against Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.

A Lionel Messi converted penalty and a goal from Daniel Alves in the 90^th minute helped Barcelona to a 2-0 over City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash at the Eitihad Stadium in Manchester.

With the game locked at 0-0 in the 54^th minute, Martin Demichelis brought down his Argie teammate Messi, in the box and the little messiah stepped up and sent Joe Hart the wrong way to give Barca the lead and a vital away goal. The goal was not the only punishment for the hosts as Demichelis was given his marching orders leaving City to play with a man less for the rest of the game.

The hosts gave a good account of themselves given the circumstances and created more chances with David Silva and Edin Dzeko both forcing fine saves from Victor Valdes. However, it was the Catalans who would score the next goal in a game which had limited chances given the attacking caliber of both sides. Daniel Alves burst forward from the right flank before slotting between the legs of Hart to score a goal that might just prove to be the last nail on the Citizens’ Champions League quarterfinal hopes.

There was a red card also in Germany where Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s golazo was the toast of PSG’s rout of Bayer Leverkusen. The beastly Swede netted a brace to steer the Parisians to a 4-0 mauling of Leverkusen who will need something sort of a miracle to advance to the quarter finals.

Blaise Matuidi gave the French side the lead with barely three minutes on the clock before Ibrahimovic converted a penalty in the 39^th minute after Emir Spahic brought down Ezequiel Lavezzi in the box. The big Swede then rifled in a thunderbolt off a Matuidi layoff to score PSG’s third just three minutes before the interval to all but end the tie as a contest. There was even time for a fourth when Yohan Cabaye netted his first for the PSG in the 88^th minute leaving Sami Hyypia’s men with a four-goal deficit going into the return leg in Paris.

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