Arsenal withstood an onslaught from Barcelona to salvage a 2-2 draw and keep alive hopes of beating the defending champion to a spot in the Champions League semifinals, while Inter Milan has the edge over CSKA Moscow after a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Barcelona comprehensively outplayed Arsenal for the first hour at Emirates Stadium and led through two goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic before substitute Theo Walcott got a goal back in the 66th and Cesc Fabregas equalized in the 85th with a penalty.
Fabregas picked up a yellow card for fouling Sergio Busquets but his suspension for next week’s second-leg match at Camp Nou is effectively meaningless after he sustained a suspected broken leg in the foul that led to the penalty.
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol was sent off for his part in the innocuous tangle of legs in the area and will also be suspended.
Barcelona, who beat Arsenal 2-1 to win the 2006 final, still remain favouritea to advance after scoring two crucial away goals.
Lionel Messi, whilst neat and tidy on the whole, remained relatively subdued. However, it has since been speculated that he was not at 100% condition seeing that he missed the following days training due to illness.
The return leg at the Nou Camp takes place this Tuesday.
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