MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi lit up an ill-tempered Champions League semifinal on Wednesday with two goals in the last 15 minutes to give Barcelona a 2-0 victory at 10-man Real Madrid.
Barcelona dominated throughout but only managed to break through after Madrid midfielder Pepe was red-carded in the 61st at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands for protesting the decision, which left Madrid playing with 10 against Barcelona for the fourth straight game.
Messi guided substitute Ibrahim Afellay’s cross through the legs of goalkeeper Iker Casillas to open the scoring in the 76th minute and with three minutes to play, the elusive Argentina forward brilliantly ghosted past three defenders before clipping the ball past Casillas for his 52nd goal of the season, and 11th in the Champions League.
"We came here with a lot of problems, we had four players from the second team on the bench, but we controlled the ball," said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, whose team was without injured midfielder Andres Iniesta.
"Real Madrid didn’t create any opportunities in the first half and to do this in this stadium in the Champions League semifinal is very difficult."
Mourinho has seen his team finish with 10 players in his last five matches against Barcelona, counting Inter Milan’s 1-0 defeat at Barcelona in the semifinal return leg last year.
"If I say to (the referee) and to UEFA what I think and feel, my career ends today," Mourinho said. "One day I hope to get an answer to the question: why?"
It was Barcelona’s first win in three games between the bitter rivals in 12 days after a 1-1 league draw and a 1-0 extra-time Copa del Rey final defeat.
Madrid’s defense in Tuesday’s return leg will be short-handed with Pepe and Sergio Ramos both suspended. Ramos was booked for a foul on Messi in the 53rd.
Mourinho described progress to the final as "mission impossible" as he continued to bemoan his side’s treatment by the referee.
If Barcelona does close out the victory, Manchester United is most likely to be waiting in the May 28 Wembley final after the English side’s 2-0 win at Schalke on Tuesday.
However, Guardiola said he wouldn’t count out Mourinho’s team yet.
"A team that has nine European Cups never gives up on a series, I’m convinced of that," Guardiola said. "We played a very good game. We controlled their counterattacks, their aerial game which is very dangerous."
Messi’s 179th goal moved him ahead of Josep Samitier to trail only Cesar Rodriguez (235) and Laszlo Kubala (196) in goals scored for the club.
"At 23 … That’s incredible," Guardiola said.
Both coaches had stoked tensions on the eve of the match, with Guardiola launching an expletive-filled attack against Mourinho, and the ill-will spilled over into the match.
Substitute Barcelona ‘keeper Jose Manuel Pinto was the first to be sent off for a red card at halftime as the two teams skirmished while leaving the field.
Pinto’s sending off left Barcelona without a reserve ‘keeper as the frustration of being unable to exploit 70 percent of the possession in the first 45 minutes seemed to boiled over.
Pepe was then harshly sent off after clashing with Daniel Alves as he lunged for a ball and Mourinho was sent to the stands for sarcastically clapping and showing a thumbs up to the fourth official.
"If you know football you know that’s not a yellow card," said Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who was limited to testing Barcelona ‘keeper Victor Valdes with a dipping shot before the half and a header over the bar after the restart.
"The coach was set to make changes over the last 20 minutes."
Barcelona dominated possession as expected from the start and Madrid defended while looking for an opportunity to counterattack, which only materialized when Emmanuel Adebayor came on at the start of the second half.
The visitors patiently threaded the ball around and David Villa and Xavi Hernandez nearly put the Catalans ahead with good chances as Madrid clamped down the center with Pepe sticking to Xavi and Messi.
Tensions finally boiled over in the 40th when Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa was booked after a tussle with Pedro Rodriguez, while Alves was shown a yellow card for a push on Angel di Maria.
As the second-half minutes ticked down, Madrid looked set to succeed in frustrating Barca, but Pepe’s expulsion complicated things.
Mourinho took a seat in the first row behind the dugout and began scribbling instructions that were passed to assistant coach Aitor Karanka as he looked to reshuffle his team in the absence of his defensive lynchpin.
But there was no stopping Messi, whose second goal was a wonderful example of his trademark darting run and finish.
Madrid stumbled against Barcelona again at the Bernabeu, where it hasn’t beaten Barcleona in nearly three years — a run of four games.
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