Lionel Messi once again stole the show as Barcelona produced a commanding 3-0 win over Manchester United in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with the Spanish club winning 4-0 on aggregate over the two legs.
The Argentine star was proud of how the Spanish giants recovered from a nervous opening against Manchester United to win through at Camp Nou and he didn't only dwell on that as he sends a strong warning to his teammates as they progress to the next round.
Messi scored two quick-fire goals in the opening 20 minutes to put his side well in front in the tie, leaving Barca to cruise through to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since they won it all back in 2015. It was Messi's first goal in the Champions League quarter-finals since 2013 and the heaviest defeat for Man Utd in a two-legged European tie in the club's history.
But it was not all smooth sailing, with the Argentina international admitting after the match that his side came out nervous and struggled before he opened the scoring to ease the tension.
"Taking off the first five minutes, where we were cold and a little nervous, I do not know if the result was weird and that made us come out that way," he said to Movistar . "But then the goals came and we played spectacular football."
The quarter-final win is a bit of redemption for Barca, who took a commanding lead in the first leg against Roma at the same stage last season before collapsing to a 3-0 loss to the Italians in the second leg.
And while Messi was thrilled to be back in the last four of the competition, he sent a warning to his side to keep up the same level of intensity throughout the rest of the competition.
"The important thing is that we go to the semifinals, but I'm happy for the win and for how we did it," he said. "We have the experience of Rome, which in five or ten minutes can complicate the classification or leave us out and we have to be aware of that"
Ajax will join Barcelona in the semi-finals, but the Blaugrana will have to wait a day to find out who their next opponent will be. The Spanish giants will face either Liverpool or Porto in the next round, and Messi does not see an advantage to playing one versus the other.
"Liverpool or Porto will be very difficult, but beyond that we played a great game."
                                                                

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