After last year’s Champions League quarter-finals meltdown against Roma, FC Barcelona didn’t want to live a repeat of that nightmare.
So they came out at Camp Nou against an underdog Manchester United side and dominated, winning 3-0 (4-0 aggregate) to advance to the semi-finals of the UCL for the first time since 2015.
Barcelona looked slightly shaky and hesitant in the first five minutes of the match, but everything changed from there.
They took control of the ball and possession, and then Lionel Messi took over.
Messi scored an absolutely brilliant strike after getting away from two defenders in the 16th minute to give Barça a 1-0 advantage.
Four minutes later, the game was put to bed after another Messi shot squirted through the arms of Man U goalie David de Gea.
Barcelona went up 2-0 in the 20th minute and went on cruise control for the rest of the match.
Manchester United couldn’t create any shots or opportunities, try as they might.
Barcelona added another goal in the second half after Philippe Coutinho scored a beautiful long-range goal that de Gea could do nothing to stop.
Barcelona dominated all night at the Camp Nou, and shook their quarter-final ghosts to advance to the final four of this year’s competition.
They will play the winner of the matchup between Liverpool and FC Porto.
