The Italians made the same mistake most Clubs make when they come to "Camp Nou", defend & speculate with counter-attacks. Giving the ball on purpose & the initiative to Barcelona is a sure manner to get hammered & this is what precisely happened to AC Milan.
However, there was one moment that could have changed it all. A defensive error by Barça player Mascherano allowed Milan forward Niang a clear run at the goal with only keeper Valdes to which he shot to hit the post. Milan had possibly the tie wrapped up but the miss by Niang & consequent recovering of the ball by Barça converted itself through the continuing play into a Barcelona goal. The missed chance was severely punished with a Barça goal, a symptom of the way the night was going & would finish for Milan.
FC Barcelona knew before the game that they had to win 3 - 0 to get themselves through & from the first second of play poured it on to overwhelm a Milan side intent on defending their "San Siro" 2 - 0 result. The Italian strategy failed as Lionel Messi was to signal his intentions & protagonism with a brillation crafted & executed first goal in the 5th min. It lifted the Barça spirit & convinced them that they could pull it off tonight.
Then the moment the Italians will be dreading all night & the coming days & weeks when forward Niang had the match on a platter but missed a clear opportunity that hit the post. Never again was Milan to receive such an opportunity as the door into the quarter-finals slammed shut on their face.
The immediate reaction from that lost opportunity by Milan was a savage blow to the stomach with a second goal for Barça from Lionel Messi in the 39th min. Crushing for the Italians whom saw how it all slipped away seconds before.
FC Barcelona at this stage was just one goal away from the objective & in came in the 55th min when David Villa scored the sort after third goal. Mayhem as the stadium burst in jubilation & joy with Barça at that stage qualified.
AC Milan had no other option but to put in forwards ( Robinho & Bojan ) to find a goal, a goal that would put them into the quarter-finals with the away goal rule. The Italians left their defensive obsessions through the need & possibly played their best Football all night. Then in a last gasp attack from the Italians, a fumble gave Barça the ball which counter-attacked via Messi & Alexis Sanchez who passed into a run Jordi Alba who scored the fourth goal in the 92th min. Game over & goodnight for AC Milan which was truly beaten & may I say humiliated in the sense of being totally out played on all fronts.
Last observations. A mention must go out to the Barça midfield which controlled everything from the first kick off. Xavi Hernandez set the pace, direction & rhythm all night, while Andres Iniesta is simply magic & poetry in motion, a delight for the Football eyes & deadly in his results for the opponents. Lastly, Messi did what a player of his calibre needs to do under such an occasion, bite the bullet of the situation & resolve which he did as a four time FIFA Golden ball player.
Great night of Spanish Football, excellent result for Barcelona & commiserations to AC Milan.
Tomorrow more Champions League with Spanish Football team Malaga FC also needing to turn around an adverse 1º tie result. We wish them the best.
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