Barcelona march on to UEFA Champions League semifinals after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38605 continued their hunt for the UEFA Champions League, second under Pep Guardiola, as they finished the job in Kiev with a good 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, finishing 6-1 on aggregate to the Catalans.
It was going to be an uphill task against the mighty Catalans, as only three clubs had previously managed to overturn a 4-goal deficit in the champions league. But shakhtar went for it.
The home-side made an excellent start to the game knowing they had to pull off a miracle to win against Pep Guardiola's men. Victor Valdes had to make some great saves throughout the game to keep the Ukrainian outfit at bay. Jadson had two very good efforts
on goal but unfortunately both were collected by Valdes.
The goal however, eluded Shakhtar Donetsk and Messi sealed the tie once and for all, two minutes before the interval when he fired a shot past the Shakhtar goalkeeper from a pass by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dani-Alves-c9869. The home side almost drew a minute later with a Jadson free kick
that was cleared by Valdes again.
In the second half, Shakhtar looked to attack but were almost caught on the break in the 58th minute as Barca almost made it 2-0 through Afellay.
Valdes made a terrific save in the 73rd minute to deny http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Henrikh-Mkhitaryan-c16068, whose drive was brilliantly saved by Victor Valdes. Donetsk’s last chance to get the equaliser fell to the substitute Marcelo but he volleyed wide.
The win now means that Barcelona will meet arch rivals Real Madrid in the semi-final, provided the Los Blancos avoid an upset at White Hart lane. It would be a titanic battle between the bitter rivals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 and the treat for the neutrals.
Barcelona will be favourites to win the UEFA Champions League with the kind of form they are in and with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 scoring goals for fun, it might be just another classic season for Pep Guardiola and his men.
Barca next face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in what could be the first of four meetings between the two clubs in a month’s time, as they also have the Copa del Rey final to contest.
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