13 Mar 2014

Messi on target as Barca eliminate City

12:35 pm on 13 March 2014

The Argentine footballer Lionel Messi struck in the second half to end Manchester City's dreams of a famous comeback as Barcelona beat the English club 2-1 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.

2009 and 2011 champions Barca were far from their classic best and entered the match having lost two of their last three games.

However Messi slotted home in the 67th minute after a mistake by Joleon Lescott, and City's night got worse when Pablo Zabaleta was sent off with a second yellow card for dissent.

The visitors scored a consolation goal through Vincent Kompany's tap-in in the 89th minute before Dani Alves sealed the result for Barcelona in the first minute of injury time.

In the day's other last 16 tie Paris St Germain sailed into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen.

The French champions won 2-1 at the Parc des Princes having thrashed the German side 4-0 in the last-16 first leg, with Marquinhos and Ezequiel Lavezzi wiping out the visitors' early strike by Sidney Sam.