Brilliant Barcelona stun Milan

Barcelona  4
Milan 0
Aggregate Score: 4-2

David Villa - preferred by Jordi Roura to Cesc Fabregas - scored a vital third before Jordi Alba’s injury time strike settled the tie.
Milan struggled to deal with the movement of an inspired Barcelona while they failed to create enough chances with Victor Valdes rarely tested in the home goal.
It took just five minutes for Barcelona to reduce the deficit and take the lead on the night.
Xavi’s intricate pass found Messi whose unstoppable curling effort into the top corner gave Abbiati no chance.
It was Messi’s 52nd goal of the season and he almost created one for Andres Iniesta moments later before Philippe Mexes intercepted.
The home side were in full flow and after 13 minutes Abbiati was forced into making a fantastic save to tip Iniesta’s effort on to the bar before Messi somehow shot wide following up.
The stopper had to be in top form four minutes later to acrobatically tip Xavi’s stinging effort around the post.
Even at this early stage it was a case of when, not if, they were to draw level on aggregate and the home side thought they should have had a penalty when Massimo Ambrosini collided with Pedro inside the box.
However, the visitors survived and slowly began to deal with the attacking onslaught of the home side, whilst creating chances of their own.
The best fell to lone striker M’Baye Niang who raced clear after breaking the Barca offside trap and although he beat Valdes, his effort hit the post and away from danger.
Milan were made to pay just seconds later and again it was Messi who was the scorer.
Ambrosini lost out to Iniesta who fed Messi, who looked to be in an offside position when the ball was played.
The flag stayed down and the Argentinian cut inside and fired past a helpless Abbiati with his lethal left foot.
Pedro picked up a booking before the end of the half for a foul on Ignazio Abate, meaning he would miss the quarter-final first leg should they progress, while Mathieu Flamini was also facing a suspension for a challenge on Pedro.
Barca began the second period much like the first and after 55 minutes Xavi’s pin-point pass eluded a sliding Cristian Zapata to find Villa, whose left-footed finish gave the Milan stopper no chance.
In a bid to increase their attacking options, Massimiliano Allegri brought on Robinho and Sulley Muntari for Niang and Ambrosini respectively.
With 15 minutes left goalscorer Villa was replaced by Alexis Sanchez, with Carlos Puyol coming on for Javier Mascherano shortly afterwards.
The home side were thankful for Jordi Alba’s intervention after 81 minutes to deny Robinho a simple chance from close range, before Adriano came on for Pedro.
The win was sealed late on when Alba somehow gathered the strength to burst down the left to fire past Abbiati in what was another memorable Barca performance at the Nou Camp.

Schalke 2
Galatasaray 3
Aggregate Score: 3-4

In the other match, Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League after edging out valiant Schalke at the Veltins-Arena.
Despite taking an early lead through Roman Neustadter, the German side were ultimately undone by strikes from Hamit Altintop and Burak Yilmaz just before the break.
Although Michel Bastos levelled just after the hour, Schalke still needed another as Gala had scored more away goals and their all-out attack left them vulnerable at the back, with the Turkish outfit making sure of their progress thanks to Umut Bulut’s injury-time effort.
The Super Lig leaders were looking to bounce back from an embarrassing home defeat to Genclerbirligi in their last domestic outing and they started in confident fashion.
Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba looked imperious early on and Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand had to be at his best to tip the striker’s fierce effort round the post.
The Ivorian then played in Selcuk Inan, who ran through on goal but lost his balance and his shot did not unduly trouble Hildebrand.
It seemed only a matter of time until the Schalke goal was breached but it was the hosts who took a 17-minute lead very much against the run of play.
The visitors failed to clear their lines from a corner and Joel Matip played the ball back to Neustadter, who slotted home with his outstretched left foot.
The strike seemed to settle Schalke, who had won all three league games since the draw with tonight’s opponents in the first leg.
Wesley Sneijder served notice to the Gelsenkirchen side, however, when he fired narrowly wide from just inside the area before Altintop brought the tie back to life in the 37th minute.
Drogba squared a free-kick to the Turkey international 25 yards from goal and his fierce blast went in off the post.
And five minutes later, Gala had taken the lead when Burak shrugged off the challenge of Benedikt Howedes and lifted over Hildebrand for his eighth Champions League goal in as many games.
Jens Keller’s men started the second half in positive fashion and Teemu Pukki - starting in place of injured star striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar - turned on the edge of the box before his rattling low effort was pushed away by Fernando Muslera at his near post.
The Gala goalkeeper was at fault, however, when Michel Bastos levelled in the 63rd minute.
Marco Hoger fired against the crossbar and although it looked like there would be no follow-up, Muslera fumbled and left Atsuto Uchida to square for the Brazilian to fire into an empty net.
Sneijder went close to immediately regaining the lead for Gala but he hammered wide but it was Schalke who gained the upper hand thereafter, with Muslera slightly redeeming himself by smartly parrying away Julian Draxler’s effort.
Gala then had to make a change as defender Semih Kaya was carried off the pitch having been knocked out although that did not seem to affect the Istanbul side, who held firm in spite of some probing pressure from Schalke.
However, the hosts left themselves wide open to the counter in search of a winner and it was Gala who stole up the other end to make sure of their progress to the quarter-final.
Substitute Umut beat the offside trap in the fifth minute of injury time and beat Hildebrand at the second attempt to send the visitors wild with joy.