Barcelona vs Manchester United result: Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho punish Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side

Here are five things we learned as Barcelona reach the Champions League semi-finals with an easy win

Barcelona made light work of Manchester United to ease their way into the Champions League semi-finals.

United made a bright start at the Camp Nou, but Lionel Messi broke the deadlock with a sublime low curling shot, which beat David de Gea and nestled in the far corner of the goal.

Just minutes later and he was at it again, with his shot squirming under the body of De Gea and effectively killing the tie.

Former Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho then added insult to injury with a sublime long-range strike, sealing a 4-0 aggregate victory.

They will play either Liverpool or Porto for a place in the final. Here are five things we learned.

Lionel Messi runs riot

Lionel Messi was sublime (Getty)

Earlier this month, Miguel Delaney wrote about how, if anything, Lionel Messi is actually underrated and underappreciated, both by Barcelona and the wider footballing world in general. He argued that Messi’s displays of genuine genius have become so relentlessly regular that they feel routine, everyday, and don’t actually get the recognition they should. They’re just what he does.

But against United this evening, Messi was even more mesmerizing than usual. While his second goal was rather fortunate – his shot squirming under the body of David de Gea – his first was utterly sublime. Pinching the ball off Ashley Young, he evaded both Fred and Phil Jones before unleashing an inch-perfect low curled shot, which beat De Gea and nestled in the far corner of the net.

The goal was striking for how quintessentially Messi the finish was. United had no answer to his energy and innovation and, at 31, this was one of his finest performances yet against an English side in the Champions League.

VAR does it job

Barcelona almost won a penalty (Getty)

There has been a lot of criticism of VAR in the Champions League this season – particularly after the penalties awarded against both Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur in previous matches – so it should be acknowledged when the system has worked well.

In the opening stages of this match, Felix Brych was deceived by Ivan Rakitic clattering to the ground after a relatively soft tackle from Fred. He immediately pointed to the spot, only to check a replay of the incident moments later.

The footage was unequivocal: no penalty. Although the contested drop-ball which followed the decision was rather baffling, and could easily have led to a rather unjust Barcelona goal.

United rue missed opportunities

Marcus Rashford went close (Getty)

After Lionel Messi’s lightning-quick brace to kill of this quarter-final second leg, United had precious few opportunities to seriously test Marc-André ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal.

So how they will regret the two chances they had right at the very beginning of this match. They began at a tremendous pace, with Marcus Rashford going close within a minute. Racing onto a Paul Pogba through-ball, Rashford stared down Ter Stegen, only for his delightful chipped effort to clip the crossbar and go over.

Moments later and Scott McTominay also found himself in a dangerous position, only to fail to bring Jesse Lingard’s slide pass under his control.

Top four fight awaits

United travel to Everton this weekend (Getty)

United cannot afford to spend too long licking their wounds – not if they want to get back into the Champions League next season.

Their victory in Paris proved they can mix it with the European big bots, but they have a real fight on their hands to get back into the top four. This weekend’s match at Everton is huge, before a seismic Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s title challengers.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team have the potential to become real European challengers. But first they must take care of business in the Premier League.

Coutinho silences his critics

Philippe Coutinho celebrates (AFP/Getty Images)

Philippe Coutinho has struggled for form this season and, while he is immensely popular along supporters at the Camp Nou, there have been whispers that he could leave the club this summer.

But he silenced his critics with a quite wonderful goal in the second-half. Messi predictably had a hand in things, clipping the ball out wide to Jordi Alba. The wing-back then found Coutinho in space, with the former Liverpool man deciding to try his luck from 25 yards. He unleashed a powerful curling shot, which flew past De Gea and gave Barcelona commanding 4-0 lead on aggregate.

His celebration was pointed, as he stood directly in front of the television cameras with his fingers in his ears. What a way for the Brazilian to silence his critics.