Soccer
Messi brace sinks Bayern─── 08:26 Thu, 07 May 2015
Lionel Messi scored a brace at Camp Nou last night as Barcelona beat the German giants Bayern Munich 3-0 in their semi-final first leg of the UEFA Champions League.
In his 100th appearance in European football, Messi's two goals moved him back ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in the Champions League and put Barca to the brink of their first final in four years.
Manuel Neuer had kept Bayern in the game with a string of fine saves, but was helpless as Messi drilled home the opener from the edge of the area in the 77th minute and then delightfully chipped the German World Cup winning goalkeeper three minutes later.
Brazilian super-star, Neymar drove the final nail into the Germans’ coffin in the 94th minute when he collected Messi’s assist to drive the ball into the back of the net.
Bayern will have to play out of their skins next week Wednesday in the return leg at the the Allianz Arena in Munich and have to win by four clear goals.
Tuesday nights’ other first leg semi-final saw Juventus stun champions Real Madrid 2-1 in Turin.
Morgan Piek / OFM News
