Yaya Toure picked the perfect time to get his first Champions League goal, his 43rd minute strike giving 2006 winners Barcelona a 1-0 win over Schalke 04 here on Wednesday.
After their Champions League quarter-final first leg win by the same score in Germany last week, the Catalans progressed to a mouth-watering semi-final clash with English giants Manchester United with a 2-0 aggregate victory.
Toure got the only goal of an entertaining if error-strewn game two minutes before half time, side-footing a loose ball home from the edge of the six yard box."After the first leg result, they had nothing to lose and were out to spring a surprise. They were playing well and I think that made us a bit nervous as we tried to wrap things up," reflected Barca coach Frank Rijkaard.
"However, my team put in a lot of effort and we deserve to be in the semi-finals. It'll be two matches at a very high level and I wouldn't make United the favourites," added Rijkaard.
Toure was the man who found the net but the credit for creating it has to go to their 17-year-old striker Bojan Krkic, Barca's scorer in the first leg, who broke away clear down the right wing.
Barca's teenage prodigy out-sprinted his markers before providing a tricky cross which two Schalke defenders failed to clear properly and the Ivory Coast international midfielder was on hand and unmarked to easily find the target.
There was joy for Barca after their recent dismal displays in La Liga, with only one win in their last seven outings, but both they and Schalke should have found the net on many more occasions.
"We were not always on the target but at least we played better than in some of our other games," admitted Barca's Spanish international midfielder Xavi Hernandez.
The first half before Toure's goal saw thrilling end-to-end action in which only poor finishing was to blame for neither side scoring.
A host of Barca players failed to capitalise on their opportunities while Schalke target man Kevin Kuranyi squandered no less than four good chances in the first 20 minutes.
After the break matters followed in similar fashion although Barca were by far the better side in the second half.
Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry mis-hit almost every ball that came their way while Halil Altintop and Kuranyi were equally inept for Schalke 04."We pressed hard and we created opportunities but in the end we couldn't do much with them," conceded Schalke coach Mirko Slomka.
By contrast to Barca's below-par better-known names, Bojan was a constant threat to Schalke with his darting runs and dribbling. Deservedly, his name rang around the Nou Camp when Rijkaard substituted the exhausted teenager after 73 minutes.
One disappointing note for Rijkaard was that his captain Carles Puyol was among the four men booked, after a wild challenge on Gerald Asamoah, and the Spanish international will miss the semi-final first leg in two weeks time.
With a long list of injuries, Rijkaard will be hoping that Gabi Milito will have recovered from his groin problem in time for the visit by United.
Lionel Messi, who has been out for five weeks with a torn left thigh muscle, could also be back by then, which will give Rijkaard the chance to drop the lack-lustre Henry who was booed by a vocal section of Barca fans in the dying minutes.
Nevertheless the victory will ease the pressure a little on Rijkaard and Barca's under-fire president Joan Laporta. "I don't think too many people can complain if we are in the Champions League semi-finals," commented Laporta after the game.
Barca now face Manchester United in the Champions League semi-finals, the tenth time they have reached this stage of Europe's top club competition, with the first leg being in the Nou Camp on April 23.
The English Premiership champions beat Roma 1-0 on Wednesday to go through 3-0 on aggregate. This season's Champions League final will be in Moscow on May 21.(source: yahoo/afp)
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