Penalty Miss: Have Mercy On Messi

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has rallied to the support of Lionel Messi after the Argentinian star’s penalty miss that almost certainly cost his team a place in the UEFA Champions League final.

Messi cut a disconsolate figure yesterday following his side’s agonising semi-final exit to Chelsea, who fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 on the night and claim a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Arguably the turning point in the contest came early in the second half when Messi smashed a penalty against the crossbar after Didier Drogba was adjudged to have brought down Cesc Fabregas.

Had Messi converted his spot-kick Barcelona would have been 3-1 up and effectively assured of a place in the final against a Chelsea side reduced to 10 men following the first-half dismissal of John Terry.

Fernando Torres’ last-gasp equaliser, which came as Barcelona swarmed forward desperately in search of the goal that would seal the tie, shattered the Catalans’ hopes of reaching a third final in four seasons.

Guardiola, however, issued a vociferous defence of Messi, who has now failed to score in eight games against Chelsea.

“We’ve gotten to where we are today thanks to this kid,” Guardiola said. “More than ever I want to thank him for what he’s done for us. My admiration for him knows no limits.

“He’s daring, he’s brave, he plays fantastic in different conditions. We played in Pamplona and it was 10 below zero – very cold – and he wanted to play and win the game. He’s an example for all of us. “His competitiveness, how he pushes us all to be better.

I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to experience a few difficult hours now because he’s a competitive guy but this is what is beautiful about football,” he added.

“Sometimes you smile and sometimes it’s your turn to be sad.”

Guardiola said Barcelona’s concession of a goal from Ramires on the stroke of half-time had proved crucial. Prior to that Barcelona had led 2-0 and appeared to be sauntering to a routine victory.

“I think that at 2-0 at half-time we would have believed we would do it, but at 2-1 it was bad for us psychologically,” Guardiola said. “Even so, we went out in the second half, we had a penalty but we didn’t score and then they got stronger and it was difficult for us to score with the minutes we had left.