Barcelona sealed a 3-1 away win to give them a great chance of
progressing to the last 8.
Barcelona took the lead 4 minutes from the break when Messi's through ball
reached Alexis Sanchez who slipped under Bernard Leno for 1-0. The Germans
however found a goal soon after the break to level Corluka crossing it in for
Michal Kadlec to head it in for 1-1. The lead lasted only minutes as through
ball carved the Germans open again allowing Sanchez to skip through round Leno
to bury it in to an empty net for his second of the night. The Champions'
sealed the victory when Dani Alves' shot was saved by Leno however the ball
fell to player Bayer didn't want it to and Messi tucked away his 7 Champions
league goal of the season. This will give Barcelona a real advantage going into
the 2nd leg at the Nou Camp.
Lyon won their home leg 1-0 against knockout newsboys, Apoel. The only goal
of the game coming from French U21 international, Alexandre Lacazette who
looped the ball over Chiotis in the Apoel goal for 1-0 after 58 minutes. Giving
Apoel a real chance in the 2nd leg as 1-0 may not be a big enough advantage.
.
Southampton closed the gap to 1 point defeating Burnley 2-0.
With West Ham not playing due to their game at London Road being called off,
Southampton took full advantage and closed the gap to 1 point. Defeating, the Clarets
2-0 at St Mary's. Billy Sharp scoring his first goal since signing from
Doncaster in January. Hull broke into the top six winning their respected
home game, easing past Bristol City 3-0. While Reading inflicted further misery
on Coventry with the help of their goalkeeper, Adam Federici winning 2-0 to
move up to 7th. Meanwhile, Leeds’ search for a new manager will continue
following their home loss to Brighton, Alan Navarro's low shot beating Andy
Lonergan to give the seagulls all three points. Cardiff will kick themselves
for letting a chance slip to close the gap with automatic promotion zone,
losing 2-1 at the King Power to Leicester City. Bore draw was the game between
Millwall and Derby at the den, Craig Byrson's point blank miss the pick of the
game. Forest did not help their relegation fight only drawing 1-1 with Watford
at the City Ground.
The cold snap dominated the Championship yesterday 4 games being defeated by
the weather, with Ipswich v Middlesbrough called off after 37 minutes due to
the frozen pitch, much to the anger of both sets of fans. Barnsley v
Birmingham, Peterborough v West Ham and Crystal Palace v Doncaster all succumbed
to the cold. Making it seem as under soil heating is in order for a lot of
these teams.
