Barcelona trounces Sporting 5-2.
Barcelona trounces Sporting 5-2. Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up another Wednesday to lead Barcelona over Sporting Lisbon 5-2 in the Champions League.
The win secured the top spot in Group C for Barcelona. With one game to play, the Spanish club has 13 points, four more than Sporting, which is also through to the last 16.
Thierry Henry, Gerard Pique and Bojan Krkic also scored for Barcelona, which got an own-goal from Marco Caneira. Miguel Veloso and Liedson scored for Sporting.
Barcelona outplayed the hosts from the outset, and Messi was in sparkling form, scoring early in the second half before being substituted.
Henry and Pique put Barcelona ahead with a pair of first-half goals within three minutes. And after Messi was replaced in the 57th, Barcelona eased off the pace, letting Sporting grab two goals in two minutes.
An own-goal in the 67th by Caneira, deflecting a shot from Pedro Rodriguez, extended the visitor’s lead to 4-2, then Krkic sealed it with a penalty in the 72nd after Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patricio was sent off.
Xavi Hernandez almost scored in the seventh when he hit the bar from a free kick.
Messi ran rings around the Sporting defenders and in the 14th he sped down the right flank before crossing for Henry to score.
Barcelona extended its lead three minutes later when Pique connected with a cross from Hernandez and the ball went in off Sporting’s Anderson Polga.
Messi got his fifth goal in the competition in the 50th when he picked up a free kick from Daniel Alves as the defense was caught napping.
Home fans at the Jose Alvalade Stadium jeered their team and applauded Messi’s dribbling.
Veloso hit a hard free kick to pull one back in the 65th, then Liedson went face-to-face with goalkeeper Victor Valdes and scored the second.
After Barcelona went up 4-2, Sporting goalkeeper Patricio was sent off for bringing down Krkic, who converted the penalty kick.
