Champions League: Messi-less Barca fight backto down Gladbach

Barcelona battled back from a goal down and
scored twice in the second half to overcome
hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their
Champions League Group C match on
Wednesday despite the absence of the injured
Lionel Messi.

Second-half goals from substitute Arda Turan
and Gerard Pique gave the Spaniards their
second win in two group matches to top the
standings, after their opening 7-0 demolition of
Celtic.
The hard-working Germans had taken a surprising
lead, scoring against the run of play, with
Thorgan Hazard slotting in to complete a quick
break in the 34th minute.
"We took a deserved victory and this was a
reward for the effort made by the entire team,"
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. "We
dominated the first half and created several
chances. We did not carve out as many chances
after the break but overall it was a deserved
win."
Barcelona, who had Argentine Messi missing
with a groin injury, are now on six points after
their second group win.
The hosts, who managed just one shot on target
have zero, after their second loss in the group
ended an 11-match winning streak at home in all
competitions.
Manchester City drew with Celtic 3-3 in the other
group game to stay second on four points.
Enrique started with Andres Iniesta, Javier
Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Ivan Rakitic, all of
whom were rested in the 5-0 thrashing of
Sporting Gijon at the weekend.
Despite the absence of Messi it was the
Spaniards who stamped their authority on the
game early on and carved out the first chance
with Neymar's shot from inside the box saved by
keeper Yann Sommer after seven minutes.
Luis Suarez should have put them ahead three
minutes later when he pounced on a defensive
error but he saw his powerful left-footed shot
sail narrowly wide.
The Uruguayan was also the recipient of a
brilliant defence-splitting pass from Neymar but
instead of rifling home he tried a cutback to
Alcacer that was cleared.
Gladbach gradually grew in confidence and
scored when forward Raffael, back from injury,
gained possession in midfield and launched a
quick break with Hazard tapping in from a
Mahmoud Dahoud pass.
The Brazilian's injury in the 48th minute and his
substitution, however, took out most of their
pace.
The introduction of Turan on the hour brought
instant results for the Spaniards, with the Turk
picking up a Neymar assist in the 65th and
drilling the ball into the roof of the net from a
tight angle.
Pique then pounced on a weak clearance by
Sommer to tap in the loose ball and hand
Barcelona a hard-fought victory.