Barcelona: Lionel Messi was in the unusual position of having to laud one of his opponents for once as Joe Hart produced a sensational performance, albeit to no avail, as Barcelona eliminated Manchester City from the Champions League on Wednesday.


Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (R) vies with Manchester City's English goalkeeper Joe Hart (L) during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 football match FC Barcelona vs Manchester City at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. Pic/AFP 

Hart made 10 saves on the night to restrict Barca to a 1-0 victory thanks to Ivan Rakitic's solitary strike on the half-hour mark which sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph. Messi teed up the Croatian with a wonderful assist, but his quest to move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history was frustrated by the stunning form of the English international.