Barcelona moved closer to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in their round-of-16 first-leg clash on Tuesday.
Alexis Sanchez broke the deadlock on 41 minutes to give the champions a lead. Leverkusen responded positively after the break, and drew level through Michal Kadlec. Sanchez restored Barca's lead in the 55th minute.
Lionel Messi scored a critical third for the Catalans late on, leaving Leverkusen with a mountain to climb on their trip to Camp Nou.
The result sees Barcelona take a two-goal lead into the second leg of the fixture, which will be played at Camp Nou on March 7.
An Alexandre Lacazette goal helped Lyon to a hard-fought 1-0 win over APOEL in their round-of-16 first-leg clash in France on Tuesday.
Lacazette struck with a deflected effort on 58 minutes.
