Barcelona through to UCL last 16 after beating Dortmund

Reuters Videos
Updated

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS A WHITE FLASH

SHOWS: BARCELONA, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 27) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, ERNESTO VALVERDE, SAYING:

"We are in the worst group or the most difficult group of the competition from my point of view, and one more year, when we still have one match to play. We are qualified, for us it is important. We have suffered in this Champions League, it is true, there have been matches in which we have started losing, here against Inter, away games where we have suffered a lot, but we have reached this moment when the last game we are the first of the group and for us, for our people, that means a lot. I believe that, except for the last ten or fifteen minutes that we have faded a bit, the team has made a great game and we are happy to look forward."

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (German) BORUSSIA DORTMUND COACH, LUCIEN FAVRE, ON MESSI, SAYING:

"Today he played as a false nine, he moves very well between lines and when he plays it's very difficult to stop him. He's almost unstoppable."

STORY: Lionel Messi scored in his 700th match for Barcelona and also set up goals for Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann as the Catalans beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Wednesday (November 27) to seal a spot in the Champions League knockout stages as Group F winners.

Messi set up Suarez to put Barca ahead at a packed Camp Nou in the 29th minute before the Uruguayan returned the compliment for the Argentine to establish another Champions League record on his landmark night four minutes later.

Messi's left-foot strike meant he had scored against a 34th different team in the Champions League, surpassing the mark that he had shared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul.

Substitute Griezmann then finished off a pass from Messi to further stretch Barca's lead in the 67th minute, a much-needed goal for the Frenchman's confidence after failing to score in his previous six appearances for the club.

Griezmann had been left out of the starting line-up but came on midway through the first half when his injury-prone compatriot Ousmane Dembele was forced off with a third muscle problem of the campaign.

Dortmund's England forward Jadon Sancho also began the game on the bench but made an impact when introduced after halftime, firing in an impressive consolation strike for the Germans in the 77th minute after pouncing on a loose ball inside the area.

The 19-year-old then forced Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to turn a powerful shot onto the crossbar in a strong finish from the German side, whose coach Lucien Favre is under pressure due to the team's poor domestic results.

But it did not tarnish what was a therapeutic win for Barca, who had come in for scathing criticism for their recent poor displays against Leganes, Levante and Slavia Prague, even though they are top of La Liga and their Champions League group.

Ernesto Valverde's side lead the standings with 11 points from five games, Inter Milan are second on seven while Dortmund are third, also on seven, with Slavia bottom with two.