Barca reach semis as Ajax knock out Juve

BARCELONA, Apr 17 (Agencies): Lionel Messi produced another masterful Champions League performance to knock out Manchester United and fire Barcelona into the semi-finals for the first time in four years, scoring twice in a 3-0 home win on Tuesday.

Barca, who toyed with United for the majority of the encounter, sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and will meet either Porto or Liverpool in the last four.

Messi had failed to score in his last 12 quarter-final appearances, but he settled his side's nerves after a bright start from United, collecting a misplaced pass from Ashley Young and curling into the bottom corner in the 16th minute.

The Argentine then pounced on another lapse from United's defence four minutes later to win back possession high up the pitch and fire a shot from outside the box, which squirmed under visiting keeper David de Gea.

Philippe Coutinho finished off a therapeutic win for the Catalans, after three quarter-final failures in a row, by curling into the top corner in the second half.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo shook his head as he walked off the field, while the Ajax players and staff celebrated with their fans long after the final whistle.

The youth-filled Ajax team knocked off another one of Europe's giants on Tuesday, beating Juventus 2-1 in Turin to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 1997. It is the first time since 2010 that Ronaldo has failed to reach the last four, having won the competition the last three years in a row with Madrid.

Juventus signed Ronaldo in the offseason in the hope of ending a 23-year wait for the Champions League but one goal from the Portugal star wasn't enough against the Dutch team, which erased a first-half deficit and largely dominated the final 45 minutes.

Having already seen off Real Madrid in the previous round, Ajax showed no fear against Ronaldo and the Italian giant either, advancing 3-2 on aggregate.