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The Blaugrana crashed out of the Champions League on away goals after a shock 3-0 loss in Italy that sees their treble hopes go up in smoke The famous Champions League comeback happened after all on Tuesday – just not in the game everyone expected. While all of the talk in the build-up was about whether Manchester City could overturn a three-goal deficit against Liverpool, few gave Roma much hope of a turnaround at home to Barcelona. But the Serie A side pulled off a rousing remontada to dash the Catalans' Champions League dreams and also their hopes of winning the treble. Barca had not lost in Europe or in La Liga all season prior to this match, but some warning signs were there. Last Wednesday's 4-1 win over Roma arrived courtesy of two own goals and also a scoreline that flattered the Blaugrana hugely. Roma had been excellent in the Camp Nou clash and the final result was excessive punishment. The tie appeared to be over. But against Leganes on Saturday, ...

         The ex-Barcelona star did get to work with the mercurial Argentine at Camp Nou, but wishes he had longer with a man who has become an all-time great.Ronaldinho considers Lionel Messi to be a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo and wishes he had spent longer alongside the Argentine at Barcelona.      The Brazilian icon was at the peak of his powers at Camp Nou when a fresh-faced teenager emerged from the famed La Masia academy system.The two South American stars complemented each other for a brief period, but Ronaldinho moved on to AC Milan in 2008.     Two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has seen his former colleague in Catalunya go on to collect five Ballons d’Or and countless other records and awards, and he believes Messi tops Ronaldo as the best in the world.     Asked again during a promotional trip to Malaysia to pick between Messi and Ronaldo, Ronaldinho said: "Messi. I would have loved to c...

Two own-goals, from Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas, and a close-range finish from Gerard Pique, presented the Catalans with a flattering 3-0 advantage at the Camp Nou before Edin Dzeko snatched Roma a late away goal.  But, just as the Italians looked to have grabbed a lifeline, Luis Suarez restored the three-goal cushion, by scoring a fourth in the 87th minute.  It means Barca will head to Italy next week with a place in the last four firmly in their grasp but this was not a virtuoso attacking display.  Instead, they benefited from two fortuitous own goals and some careless Roma finishing. They are unlikely to meet as generous an opponent in the semis.  “We did not that have continuity in the game,” Valverde said. “We had some errors and there were times that we rushed into the attack, instead of having some control.”  Barca also had referee Danny Makkelie to thank for not awarding Roma an early penalty, after Nelson Semedo pushed Dzeko in the...