Lionel Messi ends his quarter-final drought against United
The Barça talisman hadn't scored in this stage of the Champions League for six years, but didn't take long into the second leg to end that.
It didn't take him long. Less than twenty minutes into the Champions League clash at Camp Nou against Manchester United and Lionel Messi had ended his quarter-final goal drought. Then he quickly added another.
Messi scoring again, and again
Messi's presence in the starting XI served as a significant boost for Barcelona but the 31-year-old has not scored at this stage of the competition since 2013, a streak spanning 12 quarter-final appearances.
"That means he's closer to scoring again," Valverde replied at Monday's media conference when asked about Messi's barren run. "He's in perfect shape for tomorrow," added his manager.
And true enough, with United on top in the early stages, a fabulous curling finish changed the mood around the stadium putting his side 2-0 ahead on aggregate. An error from David de Gea aided his second.