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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Live score: Arsenal 0 - 2 Barcelona


Full time at the Emirates. Barcelona show their class when it matters and secure a 2-0 away win against Arsenal in the Champions League first knockout stage first-leg. The Gunners can arguably be very happy with their performance on the night, as they frustrated the Blaugrana for long periods of the match, but two mistakes at the back proved costly and it was Lionel Messi who proved to be the match winner with a stunning finish and a delightful penalty. All to do for Arsene Wenger's men in the second leg. Thanks for joining us - see you next time!

90'+1' WHAT A SAVE FROM CECH! The former Chelsea goalkeeper potentially keeps his side within a shout in this tie as he somehow stretches across goal to beat away a header from Neymar, which looked destined to find the top corner! The Arsenal stopper doesn't deserve to be on the losing side tonight.
89' Three minutes of added time have been allocated by the referee so Arsenal only have a few moments to try and find a ray of hope before the second leg. This result can be looked at as either encouraging for the Gunners due to their performance on the night, or discouraging due to the fact they haven't got anything out of it other than a two-goal deficit!
87' Well, where to Arsenal go from here? They have actually played extremely well against this incredibly talented team, but two lapses in concentration at the back have cost them dearly as they will now go into the second leg with a momentous task of coming back from two goals down. Still a little bit of time to claw one back, though.
85'Gerard Piqué Bernabéu
85' It isn't all good news tonight for Barcelona it seems, as they will now have one of their key players suspended for the second leg in Camp Nou in a fortnight. The perpetrator is Pique, who leaves the boot in on Alexis Sanchez down the left wing. Had this tie been more in the balance, that certainly would have gave Arsenal cause for optimism.
83'Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini
83' GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL FOR BARCELONA! Messi steps up after winning the penalty himself and confidently dispatches the spotkick into the bottom left corner, with Cech going in the other direction! Two-nil!
82' PENALTY TO BARCELONA! It is an absolutely SHOCKING introduction for Flamini as, in an attempt to clear the ball after a poor pass from Mertesacker, completely takes out Messi before the Argentine can get the shot away! Incredibly stupid! A real chance for the Blaugrana to double the lead!
81'Francis Coquelin
Mathieu Flamini
81' Third and final change from Wenger here and it is an interesting one as he introduces Mathieu Flamini in place of Francis Coquelin, who it can only be assumed is toiling out there in these latter stages. The former will need to get up to speed in the match pretty quickly!
79' INCHES AWAY FOR RAMSEY! The home side have a bit of joy in the final third as Ozil attempts to find a yard of space before teeing a lovely ball to the back post for Welbeck, who heads superbly back into the danger area! The Welshman bursts a gut to try and get on the end of it, but Ter Stegen just comes off his line in the nick of time to claim the ball on the ground!
77' BARCELONA HIT THE POST! The Blaugrana are looking extremely dangerous now after taking the lead, and are prospering in the increasing space available for them. The latest attack comes through Messi, who drives forward at tremendous pace, before teeing up Neymar. The Brazilian's shot is blocked but Suarez gets the rebound, only to fire a strike off the bottom of the woodwork!
75' That goal has been an absolute hammer blow to Arsenal here, as up until they conceded they arguably looked the more likely team to open the scoring! As it panned out, they went for the opener too much and left far too much space in behind, and Barcelona dutifully took advantage, and in highly ruthless fashion.
73'Olivier Giroud
Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck
73' Wenger reacts quickly to going a goal down here and makes his second substitution

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