APOEL stuns Lyon to also reach quarters PARIS — Barcelona's World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and unheralded Cypriot side APOEL FC rewrote the Champions League record books Wednesday. In Catalonia, Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League tie as titleholder Barcelona routed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 to reach the quarterfinals with a crushing 10-2 aggregate win. And over in Nicosia, APOEL became the first side from Cyprus to make it to the last eight with a 4-3 penalty shootout win over its more illustrious French rival Lyon in their last 16 second leg tie. APOEL emerged 1-0 winner on the night after Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Manduca's ninth-minute goal had left the tie delicately poised at 1-1 on aggregate and the two sides remained inseparable after extra time. Goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis then emerged as the host's hero after stopping spot kicks from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos to trigger jubilant scenes at the GSP stadium. Messi, meanwhile, bettered his previous record of four against Arsenal two seasons ago and now has 12 goals from seven Champions League matches this season after a majestic attacking performance. The Argentine legend said: “I'm happy, it's great to score five, but the important thing tonight was the win and to qualify for the quarterfinals. “Now, no matter who we meet, it's going to be very complicated, there are only good sides left in. “We know it's hard for us in the Liga (against Real Madrid), but we want to defend our Champions League title and we are also keeping in our minds the Spanish Cup.” Trailing 3-1 from the first leg it was always going to be a tough task for Bayer with Barca unbeaten in 13 European home games and it never appeared likely to end that run. Messi struck twice before the break and then hit a further three after the restart while youngster Christian Tello also grabbed a brace. In the final minute Karim Bellarabi scored for a shell-shocked German side. “You can expect anything from Leo,” said teammate Cesc Fabregas. “He is the best player in history, we have never seen anyone like him.” Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom was distraught after his side had come off second best in the penalty shootout lottery to minnow Apoel. “It is the worst way to go out,” the Swedish international said. On Tuesday, former champions AC Milan squeezed into the quarterfinals though not as comfortably as expected, the Italians losing 3-0 at Arsenal to progress 4-3 on aggregate. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was charged with improper conduct by UEFA Wednesday following his criticism of the match officials after his team's Champions League exit. Wenger hit out at the referee following the 3-0 win over AC Milan. Milan was joined in the last eight by Portuguese side Benfica. Benfica produced a professional performance to beat Russian champion Zenit Saint-Petersburg 2-0 for a 4-3 aggregate win to end a three-game winless streak and make the quarters for the first time since 2006. Next week sees the quarterfinal cast list completed with last 16, second legs ties featuring Inter Milan vs. Marseille, Bayern Munich vs. Basel, Chelsea vs. Napoli, and Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow.
