Barcelona have one foot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals following a 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Five-star showing from Guardiola's men at Camp Nou
Barcelona have one foot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals following a 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita and Xavi got the goals for the Catalan giants as they established a firm grip on their quarter-final encounter, with Yaroslav Rakitskiy offering a solitary reply for the visitors.
It took just two minutes for the deadlock to be broken at Camp Nou, as a Lionel Messi pass deflected into the path of Iniesta and he drilled past Andriy Pyatov at his near post.
Shakhtar were not overawed by the occasion, though, and could have levelled on a couple of occasions through Luiz Adriano, only for his touch and finishing to let him down.
Barca duly added a second on 34 minutes as a pinpoint pass from Iniesta picked out Alves and he calmly rounded the keeper before slotting home.
Pique got in on the act eight minutes into the second half, with a perfectly worked corner allowing him to find the target via the aid of a deflection.
Shakhtar thought they had hauled themselves back into the game four minutes later, as Rakitskiy diverted a low free-kick past Victor Valdes.
Barca, though, restored their three-goal cushion inside 60 seconds, as a flowing attacking move was rounded off in style by an emphatic finish from Keita.
Luiz Adriano hit the post for Shakhtar as they continued to battle bravely, but the tie was all but ended four minutes from time as Alves squared for Xavi to add a fifth.
Fears
Barca coach Pep Guardiola admitted on Tuesday he had a bad feeling about this match, but his fears will have been eased after seeing his take the lead after just 99 seconds through new father Iniesta.
The Spanish World Cup winner, whose wife gave birth on Sunday, slotted a low shot past visiting goalkeeper Pyatov at his near post after picking up a loose ball in the area.
However, 10 minutes after that goal, Barca survived two huge scares in quick succession as they rode their luck at the back.
The first opportunity saw Luiz Adriano beat stand-in Barca centre-back Sergio Busquets to a through-ball but then fire wide with only Valdes to beat.
Then, just moments later, a bad attempted back-pass from Dani Alves forced Valdes to race out of his goal and, although he beat Luiz Adriano to the ball, his clearance went straight to Willian whose first-time shot from 30 yards out dropped just wide of an open net.
Barca survived, though, and almost profited from some slack defending themselves in the 19th minute, as Messi robbed Mykola Ischenko of possession on the edge of the Shakhtar area but his attempted chip over Pyatov was saved.
Barca, who also went close through a Messi free-kick and a David Villa shot, were celebrating a second goal soon enough, though, as Alves netted after latching onto an inch-perfect pass by Iniesta.
Iniesta's lofted ball in towards the penalty spot might have been collected by Pyatov but, as the goalkeeper waited for the ball, Alves nipped in to steal possession before slotting into an empty goal.
That was the score Barca led by at half-time, but the 2006 and 2009 European champions wasted no time in trying to build on that advantage at the start of the second period.
Escaped
Messi and Xavi both had efforts saved before Guardiola's side made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute through Pique following a training-ground move.
Xavi cut a low corner back towards the edge of the area to meet the run of Pique, who had escaped his marker, and the Spain centre-back's first-time shot took a deflection off Rakitskiy before beating the wrong-footed Pyatov.
At that point Barca looked to be cruising into the semi-finals but Shakhtar gave themselves a glimmer of hope after netting an away goal in the 58th minute, with Rakitskiy making the decisive touch at the right end this time.
Darijo Srna's free-kick into the area was flicked on by Rakitskiy at the near post and Valdes was unable to keep the ball out as it flew into the far side of the goal.
Shakhtar's hope was short-lived however as Barca immediately went down the other end and restored their three-goal lead.
Messi beat his man before rolling a pass across the edge of the area to the unmarked Keita, who slammed an unstoppable shot into the near top corner of the net.
Barca survived another let-off with nine minutes remaining when Luiz Adriano struck the inside of the far post, and if that had gone it in would have made for an interesting second leg.
However, the ball stayed out and Barca all but killed the tie off by notching a fifth goal in the 86th minute when Xavi slotted in Alves' pass.
| Barcelona |
Team Statistics |
Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 5 |
Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 4 |
Corners |
3 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
20 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 91.8 |
Passing Success |
74.7 |
| 13 |
Tackles |
25 |
| 76.9 |
Tackles Success |
80 |
| 70.1 |
Possession |
29.9 |
| 57.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.3 |
|
