Barcelona has now confirmed the unavailability of Lionel Messi for the match against Espanyol due to Grade 2 ankle sprain suffered in the match against Dynamo Kiev (1-2) on Wednesday, according Spanish news reports.

Messi was examined by the club doctors, who confirmed the first diagnosis made on-site at the Valery Lobanvoskiy Stadium.

The player will not participate in the derby against Espanyol next Saturday at the Camp Nou (20:00 hours) and depending on his progress may also miss the semifinal match of the Club World Cup, against either New Zealand’s Auckland City or Mexico’s Atlante.

It so happens that the Argentine player had already missed the Club World Cup when Barcelona last played in the tournament in 2006, following a serious injury he suffered a month before leaving for Japan

Sport
‘A Champion’s response… and Round-of-16!’

“FC Barcelona qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League after defeating Dynamo Kiev 1-2. Goals from Xavi and Messi served to recover Barcelona’s night that began with an uphill battle but once again, ended with another recital from Barca,” summarised the Catalan sports paper.

“Barcelona went through one of those days that make the Champions League a unique competition, a different kind of competition, of magic. It was a night of emotions and nerves, but as always, with the infallible Barca, ends with a happy ending, like in a fairy tale. FC Barcelona has more than enough reasons to be happy. The team is now in the Round-of-16 and as group leader will have home-ground advantage in the next stage; no matter who the opponent is, the second leg will be held at the Camp Nou. And that always helps…”

“Even with the temperature hovering around zero degrees, Pep Guardiola’s disciples were again giving us a footballing exhibition. Their dominance was overwhelming despite the setbacks, which were neither few nor minor. The early goal of Milevskiy and a lack of marksmanship were the only obstacles that denied them a more comprehensive win.”

“One of the merits of this Barcelona team is their ability to expel any feelings of fears and defeatist attitude. As least for now, no one is able stop them, it’s like their football is from another planet.”

“Can anyone really think Barcelona could fall in the first round when they have players like Ibrahimovic, Iniesta and Messi on their team? The Ballon d’Or had another superb game, by putting the icing on his great performance with the winning goal five minutes from time.”

“Barcelona spent the night with a one eye in Italy. The news coming out of the San Siro was not good; Eto’o had put Inter ahead with Barca trailing 1-0… but all the fears soon fade away. The equaliser arrived quickly for Barca.”

“On the half hour mark, came the 1-1, after a long, wonderful combination play that ended with Abidal serving a cross from the left and Xavi sending the ball into the net from close range.”

“The tide turned and the domination of Barcelona was overwhelming. Dynamo exhausted, could only watch them play their triangulated passing game, and to spring a surprise when the opportunity arrives. Only the intervention of goalkeeper, Shovkovskiy, prevented a heavy defeat.”

“The 1-2, coming five minutes from the end, was justice done. Messi, leading from the front, took the exquisite free-kick. The Argentine gave Kiev a new lesson in football but the happiness was short-lived for shortly thereafter he was the victim of a gruelling tackle and had to leave the pitch limping. Pep Guardiola said it is a sprain, and everything indicated he will miss the League derby against Espanyol this Saturday. In the coming hours, we will know the exact extent of his injury,” concludes the paper in a sombre note.

EL Mundo Deportivo

‘1-2: Barca wins in Kiev and is first’

“It was a decisive final. Barcelona is through to the Round-of-16 after avoiding the Dynamo Kiev pitfall, and a group that had given multiple headaches for Guardiola, his men and their fans. A match that Pep stressed is ‘vital’ and one, ‘in which, we will play for our lives’ Touré said,” recalled the Catalan sports paper.

“The centenarian Xavi extinguished the fire that Valdés ignited with an error, one which nearly cost them dearly, and Messi had a very productive match before retiring injured. With last night’s win, Barcelona can now concentrate on their possible Champions League knock-out stage opponent, with the coveted return-leg at the Camp Nou,” it further surmised.

“Barcelona players went out into the cold as if the match did not concern them. Gazzaev’s men even managed to give themselves some hope of qualifying at the expense of the European Champion. Piqué’ paid the price for his foul on Milevskiy, that the player himself converted or was it a Valdes own goal (1-0, min. 3). The bewildered face of Guardiola on the bench reflected those of the many culés that were not expecting a dreadful result to come out of the match. The general lack of concentration was threatening their qualification despite earlier warnings from Guardiola.”

“With Eto’o scoring in Milan in the other match that added more drama for the day in Group F, only a collective effort by the players enabled a much-improved French left-back, Abidal, to put in a low cross which Xavi finished off (1-1, min. 33). A gift for the midfielder on the day he played his 100th match in the continent’s premier club competition.”

“In the second-half, Dynamo tried to repeat the formula that worked for them in the first-half but Barcelona had learnt their lesson and began to suffocate them.”

“Barcelona opted to set the match pace with their possession game, which frustrated the Ukrainian to the point of losing their nerves that hard tackles started flying in. The Catalan side dominated without hurting the Ukrainian Champion much.”

“Finally Messi, struck a perfect free-kick that beat Shovkovskiy (1-2, min. 86), and might have added some more had he was not brought down clumsily and was receiving treatment on the side-line, when Barcelona was given another free-kick in a well placed position. Zlatan took over the responsibility, and nearly overwhelmed the goalkeeper with his ferocious strike.”

“After this match, Barcelona will now embark on their knock-out rounds, and be on their way on the road to Bernabeu,” the article hoped.

Marca

‘Xavi and Messi keep Barca warm’

“The European champions avoided being ‘frozen out’ in the cold Kiev night. Barcelona overcame the adversity with their football, which seems to be unaffected neither by zero degree temperatures nor by icy winters. Conceding a goal 2 minutes into the match, a debacle looms large. Thanks to Xavi, the architect of the equalising goal, all the ugly scenarios that could happen at the Valeri Lobanovskiy Stadium was averted,” is the short assessment of the Madrid based paper.

The Good – Xavi and Messi

“Barcelona would not be the same without them. One is the brain of the team, the other execute the plan. The two, goal-scorers in Kiev, mark the difference.”

The Bad – Leo’s ending

“The Argentine left the game early due to physical discomfort. He was limping through the fault of Gazzaev’s men.”

The three key points of the match are:

Xavi, the match’s ‘thermometer’. “Not only can he determine the ‘temperature’ of the match, but he scored the equaliser that reinstalled in the team their self-belief, and did it on his 100th match in the Champions League.”

Leo’s smile. “He secured the win with a superb direct free-kick, but left limping due to the tough tackling Ukrainians.”

Top of their class. “The European champions will play the return-leg of the Round-of-16 at the Camp Nou. AC Milan and Bayern Munich are the rivals to avoid.”

AS

‘Xavi and Messi has a remedy for the cold’

“Barcelona survived an initial shock in their ‘final’ in Kiev and will now defend their continental crown in the Round-of-16. Topping their group, they will avoid the over-rated English teams. It came late in the match after an early clamorous error by Valdés sow doubt on their qualification. As soon as Xavi scored in his 100th Champions League match, Barcelona conquered their nerves in a match that was theirs for the taking, settled in the end by Messi’s superb goal,” the Madrid sports paper opens up.

“From a certain perspective, minus the cold, it should be a comfortable night for Barcelona. Except for the early shock goal by Dynamo, the night turned into a long-running sterile match. The situation then turned to pure nerves for the champion when Inter Milan took the lead against Rubin Kazan.”

“Dynamo failed to press Barcelona further to take advantage of the circumstances. Relying on their physical strength, Gazzaev’s men were too cowardly in their approach.  Meek and defensive, they put up a ‘wall’ in their own area to deter Barcelona rather than take the game to their opponent.”

“The other side of the coin was Barcelona; a team that is always calm yet full of self-esteem. Neither the failure of Valdes nor the threat of elimination filled them with anxiety. It seemed they were never weighed down by neither the scoreline, nor tall grass, and not even cold nights. Dull, without engaging into fifth gear and without using their full genius capability, they keep on pressing forward, but using their superiority and sobriety, before finally erasing the early debacle with only their third away goal in the competition, via a Xavi Hernandez decisive move.”

“Xavi, in his 100th Champions League match, scored in the 33rd minute even when Dynamo was putting nine players around their goal mouth. They had forgotten about Valdes, surrendering to Barcelona 77% of the possession.”

“The second half was tiresome with kilometres upon kilometres of Barcelona’s loops of one-touch passes, cautious and controlled. It all seemed like everyone has accepted the result and gave Inter Milan the group lead and the knock-out round second-leg home-ground advantage.”

“That was until Messi rebelled against status quo with a goal that further extended his repertoire; a beautifully taken inch-perfect direct freekick that ‘kissed’ the crossbar before going in. Great goal and work done, but could still be more colourful had Messi, who retired limping, was able to take the next well-positioned freekick or that Ibrahimovic had not struck the ball straight at Shovkovskiy; his only contribution of the match.”

“In the end, the champion won and is through even after the unfortunate double duel against Rubin. From then on, six points out of six sealed the group lead. It was not a straight-forward achievement but in a group that was hiding sharks in every puddle and knives around every corner, Barca is where they should be, and will defend their crown against the best from now on.”

“Finally, we will see a true dog eat dog duels, in the true tradition of the old European Cup, which rewards the epic and will not forgive neither mistakes nor a cowardly gesture. It will be, with Barcelona present, from this February onwards,” AS concludes.

According to Sky Sports, Liverpool midfielder and Argentinian international Javier Mascherano (25) has rejected a contract extension from his club. This is the second time Mascherano turns down Liverpool’s contract extension proposal. The Argentinian midfielder is reportedly still one of Barcelona’s targets in the transfer market. Speaking of declining Liverpool’s proposals to extend his contract, Mascherano said: “I still have 18 months of contract as a Liverpool player. I will continue giving my best to retain my playing level.”