F.C. Barcelona looked to have no hope making it through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League after a surprise loss against the Italian Giants, A.C. Milan. Allegri's black and red side had pulled a 2-0 win out of the first game of the knockout stage. The 2010 champions would need to win the second match by a 3-goal margin. Barca's manager, (Tito Vilanova ), is currently in the hospital, making Barca's life even harder. Many had lost faith in Barcelona. Those who didn't, did know if someone could save them from Barca's reputation crashing to the ground. Lionel Andres Messi. And once again, he has pulled them out of a ditch, scoring two and assisting one in a 4-0 win, making the score 4-2 on aggregate. The two other scorers were David Villa, and Jordi Alba. Messi was named Man of the Match. Barcelona is only one of the six teams qualified so far. Barcelona's lineup was missing two key players during this match, (Carlos Puyol and Cesc Fabergas). This is Barcelona's sixth consecutive time reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Two more matches are left in the round of 16. Bayern Munich vs Arsenal and Malaga vs Porto*. Barcelona's rivals Real Madrid have also made it to the quarter finals. Barcelona are favorites of the tournament now that Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United are gone.
*Both matches are at 3:45 pm ET on Wednesday, March 13th.
