Messi treble sends Barca through

LIONEL MESSI scored a hat-trick as Barcelona became the first team to book their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages with a 4-0 win at Viktoria Plzen.

Pep Guardiola’s men proved far too strong for the Czech side, whose already tall order had become an almost insurmountable one after Marian Cisovsky was sent off for fouling Messi in the 22nd minute.

Messi tucked away the resulting penalty and added his second in first-half injury time. Cesc Fabregas added a third on 72 before Messi completed his hat-trick in the last minute to guarantee the holders’ passage out of a lopsided Group H.

Milan joined Barca in the knockout stages despite being pegged back in the second half and forced to settle for a point against BATE Borisov in Minsk.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic put the Italians ahead and, despite Renan Bressan’s penalty earning the Belarusian side a point, Milan’s superior head-to-head record in the games between the sides means their six-point margin over BATE is sufficient.

Valencia moved back into contention in Chelsea’s Group E with a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Second-half goals from Roberto Soldado and Adil Rami saw the Spaniards home after Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling cancelled out a first-minute opener from Jonas, which was the second-fastest goal in Champions League history.

Valencia’s win takes them within one point of the second-placed Germans and three of leaders Chelsea, with the Londoners facing a potentially crucial trip to Leverkusen later this month.

In Group F, with Arsenal and Marseille battling to a goalless draw, Borussia Dortmund staked their own belated claim for a place in the knockout stages with their first win over Olympiakos. Kevin Grosskreutz’s seventh-minute strike took them to within three points of Marseille.

APOEL Nicosia continue to lead Group G after a dramatic 2-1 win over Porto in Cyprus. Zenit St Petersburg are now three points clear in second place after a 1-0 win over Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk.