LONDON (AP) — A round-by-round look at Barcelona's progress to Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley:
Group Stage
Advanced top of Group D ahead of FC Copenhagen (Denmark), Rubin Kazan (Russia) and Panathinaikos (Greece)
Barcelona never looked troubled in Group D, sailing through unbeaten having clinched top spot and progressing to the next round with a game to spare.
Although it conceded early in its opening match against Panathinaikos, Barcelona never allowed its opponent another shot at goal and stormed back to win 5-1 and take top spot from the opening matchday.
Lionel Messi scored six times in six group matches, surpassing Rivaldo as Barcelona’s leading scorer in Europe.
The only area of concern was the inability to make the most of overwhelming possession in 1-1 draws at Rubin Kazan and FC Copenhagen.
First Knockout Round
Advanced past Arsenal (England) 4-3 on aggregate
Barcelona dominated Arsenal in London for a second straight season but failed to add to David Villa’s first-half opener and conceded two goals in the last 12 minutes for a surprising 2-1 loss in the first leg.
Arsenal was in a position to advance when the second leg was 1-1 with 20 minutes left, but Xavi Hernandez scored his first Champions League goal of the season and Lionel Messi hit his second of the game with a penalty.
Javier Mascherano’s covering tackle late on denied Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner a goal that would have put Arsenal through but an average of almost two-thirds possession over two matches showed that Barcelona was much the stronger side.
Quarterfinals
Advanced past Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 6-1 on aggregate
Andres Iniesta’s second-minute opener in the first leg at Camp Nou showed Barcelona was in no mood for a repeat of its loss to the same opponent in a 2008-09 group match.
Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said Barcelona was "clinical" as five different players scored in a 5-1 demolition of his side.
Lionel Messi then scored the only goal of the second leg to hand 2009 UEFA Cup winner Shakhtar its first ever European defeat at Donbass Arena.
Semifinals
Advanced past Real Madrid (Spain) 3-1 on aggregate
Barcelona had by far the better of the latest chapter of arguably world football’s biggest club rivalry, but only Lionel Messi’s individual brilliance saved it from being entirely overshadowed by both teams’ cynical play.
For the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho tried the same tactics that frustrated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
But defender Pepe, playing in central midfield, was sent off and Messi scored two late goals — the latter a spectacular solo effort for his 11th in 11 tournament appearances — as the visitors’ astonishing 72 percent possession yielded a 2-0 win.
The return meeting at the Camp Nou was less eventful but Barcelona was again on top in a comfortable 1-1 draw.
