Messimesmerized

Messimesmerized.......

Barcelona magician Lionel Messi mesmerized Arsenal so much over the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final that the English team was left chasing shadows, manager Arsene Wenger reflected.

The world player of the year single-handedly led the European champions into a semifinal with Inter Milan, with the Argentine scoring all of Barca's goals in a 4-1 victory at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.

"Messi can make a difference at any moment in a game. He can take advantage of any mistakes you make," Wenger told a news conference.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi celebrates his fourth goal during Tuesday's Champions League soccer match against Arsenal in Barcelona.

"Messi's very young but he can achieve a lot. I don't know many players who can score the four goals he scored tonight and he has the team to help him.

"Barca is more than Messi. They are an exceptional team with an exceptional player. In exceptional games, it is the exceptional players that make the difference."

The 22-year-old Messi grabbed his team by the scruff of the neck and dragged it back into the game after it was shaken by Nicklas Bendtner's 18th-minute opener.

He sprinted towards the area three minutes later, and when Mikael Silvestre's weak clearance rebounded back into his path, he hammered a shot high into the net for the equalizer.

Messi later pulled wide and fired the second goal over the diving Arsenal goalkeeper in the 37th minute and completed his hat-trick with a scooped lob over the advancing Manuel Almunia, after bursting away on a counter-attack just before the break.

The fourth goal, at the end of the game, saw Messi beat Almunia after twisting and turning past defenders inside the area.

"He is a brilliant player. He was fantastic," Almunia told Sky Sports. "As a goalkeeper you try and anticipate what he is going to do, but he can do anything, so it is very hard to stop him because he has such fantastic skill.

"He was great tonight, I think he is the best player I have ever played against and is the best in the world."

INTER MILAN 1 CSKA 0

MOSCOW / Wesley Sneijder propelled Inter Milan to its first Champions League semifinal since 2003 when his early goal provided a victory over CSKA Moscow in the second leg of their quarter-final clash.

The playmaker, who will have a key role for the Netherlands at the World Cup in South Africa, fired the visitors ahead less than six minutes into the game when his low 20-metre free kick skidded under CSKA's defensive wall and evaded goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.

With Inter holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Sneijder's goal all but killed the home team's chances as the Italian champions held firm for a comfortable 2-0 win on aggregate.

CSKA's Nigerian defender Chidi Odiah was sent off in the 49th minute after he picked up his second yellow card after a foul on Samuel Eto'o.

Tuesday's match was played amid high security after 40 people were killed in last week's two bomb blasts in the Moscow metro.

AND for todays match up between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, with a upper hand and late injury stoppage winner by Olic…has bayern in strong position, but united playing in Old Trafford with the home support and the atmosphere the best can feel the pressure. With the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben back from suspension and injury; with there first leg scorer in Franck Bilal Ribéry the Bayern Side looks good going forward; with Mark van Bommel in front of the defenders.

About the United side the major upset would be the talisman Wayne Rooney been injured and unlikely to take part in important leg. With the likes of Edwin van der Sar; Ryan Giggs, Scholes have gone through this; the Red Devils are having good experience to go ahead…the major incentive would be for Dimitar Berbatov's to prove that he is a world class player and to perform when the talisman Rooney is not around…

United must play with pace, passion and power to beat Bayern…