Defending champions Barcelona appear to have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a three-one win over Bayer Leverkusen in their first-leg of their last-16 tie. Lionel Messi produced another footballing masterclass while Alexis Sanchez scored a brace for the Catalan giants as they built-up a comfortable advantage ahead of the return leg at the Camp Nou. Messi rounded-off a brilliant performance by finishing-off a flowing attacking move for his side’s third goal in the closing stages. In the other game of the night, Lyon have a slight advantage over Apoel Nicosia after beating the Cypriot side by a goal to nil. Elsewhere, It finished honours-even in the top-of-the-table clash in the nPower Championship. League leaders West Ham and second-placed Southampton played-out a one-all draw at Upton Park. Birmingham City failed to take advantage as Chris Hughton’s side slipped to fifth place following a scoreless draw against Hull, which has allowed Cardiff to move up to third after a comfortable 3-1 win over Peterborough. Elsewhere, Irish international Noel Hunt scored the only goal as Reading moved into the play-off places with a win over Derby and Millwall’s Andy Keogh was also among the goals as they drew two-all against Brighton.
Never thought I'd include Leo Messi and Millwall in the same web post
