UEFA Champions League - News

FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi said his side would be going for victory when the Liga leaders meet Real Madrid CF in Tuesday night's Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at the Camp Nou. "Playing in front of our own fans we will have no choice but to go out and try to beat Madrid," he said, with the tie evenly poised at 1-1 after last month's first leg. "We can't afford to think that a 0-0 draw will do us."

Messi extended his record of scoring in consecutive Liga games to 15 when he struck a 60th-minute winner in the 2-1 home triumph against Sevilla FC at the weekend, when the Blagruana also conceded for the eleventh match in a row. The 25-year-old also preferred not to dwell on last week's 2-0 defeat against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg at San Siro. "There's no point in going crazy over that result," he added. "The most important thing is to get the good feeling back within the team as there are many important games coming up."

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Real Madrid CF midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to start his team's Copa del Rey semi-final second leg away to FC Barcelona tomorrow night despite recent groin problems. The former Liverpool FC player reportedly played through the pain barrier in the Merengues' UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg 1-1 draw with Manchester United FC on 13 February. He has since been reserved by coach José Mourinho for the team's most important games, notably tomorrow night's Copa encounter at the Camp Nou - which also stands at 1-1 - and the trip to Old Trafford for the second leg next week.  

Asked late last week about his progress, the Spanish international said: "I'm trying to recover as quickly as possible. A lot of people have been asking me when I will be back but the truth is that I don't know. I think whoever scores first over there will be in the driving seat in terms of qualification. Old Trafford is a great stadium to play in and this is the type of game everyone wants to be involved in."

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Manchester United FC are hopeful but still waiting for definitive news about Robin van Persie's injury after the forward came off injured in the first half of a 2-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers FC on Saturday. "He collided with a camera, which was in a dug-out piece of ground," explained United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "He hit the base of it and has a very bruised hip. I imagine it will be tender and sore for a few days but hopefully he will be OK, especially for the Madrid game [on Tuesday 5 March]."

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