Messi misses allow minnows avoid battering in Barcelona

BARCELONA had to settle for just two goals despite battering Plzen in a predictably one-sided Champions League clash at the Nou Camp.

Andres Iniesta and David Villa scored at either end of a game in which the hosts could have got close to double figures had they taken their full quota of chances.

Lionel Messi twice hit the post on a night when he left the Plzen defence punch-drunk but was simply unable to find an accurate finish, often guilty of over-playing, while the visitors defended at times as though their lives depended on it.

Barca’s win moved them on to seven points, level with AC Milan at the top of Group H.

Milan remain unbeaten in the Champions League this season thanks to a routine win over BATE Borisov at the San Siro. The Italians were rarely in trouble, apart from a game-changing save from Christian Abbiati midway through the first half and, once Zlatan Ibrahimovic got them going with his third of the season, they did not look back.

Milan took the lead after 33 minutes, Ibrahimovic slotting a finish into the bottom corner after the ball came loose when Antonio Cassano failed to get a clean contact on an Ignazio Abate cross.

The clinching goal came 20 minutes from time, Kevin-Prince Boateng taking a touch from 25 yards out and then hammering in via the underside of the bar.

In Group E, Bayer Leverkusen staged a dramatic second-half comeback to beat Valencia 2-1 in Germany and do themselves a huge favour in their battle to reach the knockout stages alongside likely qualifiers Chelsea.

Brazilian Jonas gave the Spaniards a 24th-minute lead but two goals in four second-half minutes from Andre Schurrle and Sidney Sam gave Leverkusen a win that takes them four points clear in second place.

In Arsenal’s Group F, Olympiakos claimed their first points of the campaign with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in Greece.

Rafik Djebbour and Francois Modesto earned the points for the Greeks after Jose Holebas’ eighth-minute opener had been cancelled out midway through the first half by Robert Lewandowski.

In Group G, surprise package APOEL Nicosia continue to set the pace after holding out for a 1-1 draw away to Porto thanks to Ailton Almeida equalising Hulk’s early strike.

APOEL stay top because Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St Petersburg could not be separated in Ukraine. Shakhtar twice led through Willian and Luiz Adriano, but were pegged back by goals from Roman Shirokov and Viktor Faizulin.