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Barca blasts Stuttgart

Barcelona blasts Stuttgart

03/17/2010 09:37:11 PM

Lionel Messi staged another master class to power holder Barcelona into the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Stuttgart on Thursday morning.

The result handed the Spanish giant a 5-1 victory on aggregate.

Messi struck a brilliant opener after just 12 minutes to put Barca on track, and then played a key role as Pedro Rodriguez made it 2-0 soon after as the Catalan giants built a 3-1 aggregate lead.

Messi, who was a constant menace, added a third on the hour mark to take his tally to eight goals in the last four games before Bojan Krkic completed the romp late on as Barca became Spain's only representative to make it into the last eight.

Real Madrid, whose Bernabeu stadium will stage this year's final, and Sevilla were both dumped out in the last week while Atletico Madrid bade farewell to the competition in the group stages.

Meanwhile, Bordeaux survived an unlikely Olympiacos fightback to book its place in the final eight at the Stade Chaban Delmas with a 2-1 win on Thursday morning.

The French outfit claimed a 3-1 aggregate triumph as a result of its second-leg performance.

Yoann Gourcuff's superb free kick gave Bordeaux an early lead and the France midfielder saw another set piece come back off the frame of the goal as visiting goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis struggled to cope with his delivery.

There looked no way back for Olympiacos when Matt Derbyshire was sent off in the 60th minute for two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes.

But substitute Kostas Mitroglou made an instant impression, crashing home a 64th-minute equaliser, and it received a second boost when the hosts' captain Alou Diara also saw red.

Bordeaux, though, sealed its progression in the 88th minute, Nikopolidis again caught as Marouane Chamakh headed in at the far post.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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