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Messi knocks Leverkusen out from Champions League

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Bayer Leverkusen’s profligacy was carried from league to Champions League as the German club could only manage a third-place finish in their group.

To qualify, Leverkusen had to beat a second-string Barcelona team, but squandered several great chances in the second half
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Lionel Messi opened the scoring on 20 minutes, but Javier Hernandez managed to equalize for Leverkusen three minutes later.

The Mexican continues to be a regular source of goals for Roger Schmidt’s side who have dropped as low as eighth in the Bundesliga table.

Last season’s Champions League winners Barcelona had already secured their qualification for the Round of 16 before the final round of matches.

Just Ivan Rakitic, Jordi Alba and Messi remained from the side which drew in Valencia at the weekend. Neymar was a late withdrawal after picking up a groin injury in the final training session on Tuesday, while Luis Suarez was named on the bench. With one win in seven games, Leverkusen’s performances are leaving a lot to be desired.

Read also: UCL: Man United crash out as Wolfsburg, PSV progress

Roma did the bare minimum to advance in the Champions League on Wednesday, qualifying for the round of 16 with a 0-0 draw against BATE Borisov.

While the result stretched Roma’s winless streak in all competitions to five matches, the Giallorossi were fortunate enough to finish second in Group E behind defending champion Barcelona.

“Maybe it wasn’t the most beautiful (match) but we qualified and that’s most important,” said Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who made a decisive save midway through the second half.

Barcelona won the group with 14 points following a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen. Roma and Leverkusen each finished with six points but Roma held the edge with a better head-to-head record.
Belarusian champion BATE finished last with five points.

Roma’s last victory came more than a month ago in a 2-0 derby win over Lazio — a stretch that included an embarrassing 6-1 loss at Barcelona.

Roma coach Rudi Garcia is still under pressure entering a tough contest at Napoli this weekend.
Roma fans continued their season-long protest over security measures at the stadium, with only about 20,000 supporters watching the game.

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