Barça cool, calm and collected in Kyiv

Daniel Alves paid tribute to FC Barcelona's pass masters after the UEFA Champions League holders negotiated a safe passage to the knockout rounds of the competition.

Possession counts
The Blaugrana recovered from the shock of Artem Milevskiy's second-minute goal for a fired-up FC Dynamo Kyiv to top Group F thanks to strikes from Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi. "We knew it would be difficult, and it was very cold out there too," Alves told uefa.com. "But after going a goal down, we managed to find our balance and get plenty of possession, and because of that we produced a great performance in the end." The statistics back up Alves's comments: the visitors had 78 per cent of the ball on a harsh winter's night at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium.

Raising their game
However, the 26-year-old right-back, who supported Barcelona's attack throughout with a succession of trademark storming runs, acknowledges the hard work that lies ahead if Josep Guardiola's men are to retain their European crown. "We expect the same as ever in this competition, just like last year," he said. "The knockout stages will be difficult. We need to maintain and raise our level if we're going to go on right to the end."

'Group of Death'
The Brazilian international also recognised the quality of Barcelona's opponents in what club president Joan Laporta had dubbed the "group of death" – all four sides had a chance of qualification before kick-off on Matchday 6. "When you come up against national champions, it's always difficult," said Alves. "We knew they had to be strong to win their leagues, and you have to give them a lot of respect for that." Indeed, the Catalan team had not taken any of the competition lightly according to their defender. "We worked just as hard against Dynamo as we would in any UEFA Champions League match. We gave a focused, and an excellent, display."

'Best in the world'
Alves's compatriot Betão reflected on what might have been after an ultimately frustrating campaign in which Dynamo let slip leads against FC Internazionale Milano and Barça. "We played well in the group and we had opportunities to get more victories, especially in the home game against Inter, so it's a bit of a disappointment," the 26-year-old defender said. The blow of losing to another late goal, after the 2-1 defeat by Inter on Matchday 4, was hard to take. "Barcelona had a lot of the game, but with five minutes to go we thought we would end up with at least a draw," said Betão. "Unfortunately, Messi scored a great goal to show us why he is the best in the world."

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Barça progress after early scare

FC Barcelona emerged unscathed from a difficult examination by FC Dynamo Kyiv to claim a comeback victory that took them through to the UEFA Champions League first knockout round as Group F winners.

Messi winner
The holders were on the ropes at a chilly Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium when Artem Milevskiy headed Dynamo in front inside two minutes, but they fought back to level through Xavi Hernández just past the half-hour before Lionel Messi's imperious late winner removed all doubt. Victory confirmed top spot for Barcelona ahead of FC Internazionale Milano and denied Dynamo a place in the UEFA Europa League as they finished bottom.

Milevskiy strikes
Josep Guardiola's men had not conceded away from home in this season's UEFA Champions League, but Dynamo struck with the first attack of the match. After Gerard Piqué's foul, Andriy Shevchenko swung in a free-kick from the left and Milevskiy's glancing header at the near post caught Víctor Valdés unawares, the ball squirming from the goalkeeper's grasp and into the net. At this stage Dynamo were provisionally in second place.

Barcelona dominate
However, Olexandr Shovkovskiy was not having a much easier night in the Dynamo goal and his miscued clearance almost handed Messi a 13th-minute equaliser. The goalkeeper, though, quickly recovered and dived to push away the Argentinian's left-footed shot. Barça began to monopolise possession, and by midway through the first-half they had enjoyed 80 per cent of the ball, though they were struggling to create clear opportunities. Messi started to drop deep in an attempt to pull the strings and he had a shot deflected wide after a typically surging run.

Xavi leveller
On 33 minutes, the Blaugrana pressure finally told. Messi sent Eric Abidal away on the left and the full-back's low cross allowed Xavi to guide in from close range. Barça continued to move the ball well and on the cusp of the interval Daniel Alves tested Shovkovskiy with a cross-shot after a flowing move. Dynamo's need to set the pace in the second period meant they were vulnerable to counterattacks and Messi was denied a certain goal by Ognjen Vukojević's alert interception. The home side responded well, and Shevchenko delivered another free-kick that Leandro Almeida headed into the side-netting.

Vociferous crowd
Dynamo, encouraged by a vociferous crowd, tried manfully to shape openings, but struggled against a Barcelona rearguard back to its best after their initial uncertainty. In fact the holders looked more likely to score, with only desperate defensive blocks denying Messi, Alves and Andrés Iniesta in quick succession. Dynamo's last throw of the dice was to bring on Miloš Ninković for the more defensive Gérson Magrão in an attempt to wrest control. With just four minutes of normal time left, though, Barça confirmed their superiority, Messi stepping up to curl a magnificent free-kick past Shovkovskiy and end Dynamo's European campaign.

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Messi upstages drama-prone Madrid

Having won the Ballon d'Or on Tuesday, Lionel Messi struck twice at RC Deportivo La Coruña as FC Barcelona cemented their place at the top of the Liga with a 3-1 win on a night which also brought drama for Real Madrid CF.

Messi double
Messi produced a typically assured finish 27 minutes into the late game in Spain, slipping past Manuel Pablo to fire low into the left of the net, but Barcelona's defending was nothing like as slick as they squandered their lead before the break. A misplaced header from Sergio Busquets gifted Adrián López a sight of goal, with Víctor Valdés taking some of the blame for allowing the striker's header to get past him. Barcelona dominated, but it took until the 79th minute for Messi to make that pressure tell, with a slick move ending with Pedro Rodríguez crossing for the unmarked Argentinian to head the winner. Zlatan Ibrahimović then made it 3-1 with a cool strike two minutes from time.

Ping-pong affair
Madrid had earlier got out of jail with a 4-2 win against UD Almería. Los Merengues looked set for a comfortable night when Sergio Ramos headed them into a 30th-minute lead, but the game was turned on its head after the break, with Fernando Soriano finding the net with the help of a deflection off Raúl Albiol before Kalu Uche made it 2-1 with a powerful shot following a corner. Gonzalo Higuaín equalised after defender Santiago Acasiete failed to clear Marcelo's cross, and the game was wrapped up eight minutes from the end, Karim Benzema finishing after Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty was saved. The Portuguese winger soon atoned, though he would have struggled to miss after Higuaín's ball left him an easy finish to make it 4-2. However, his night ended badly as he was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Sevilla slip
The win was doubly valuable to Madrid with third-placed Sevilla FC having dropped two points at home in one of the day's two early games. Sevilla equalised from the spot through Luis Fabiano after Manucho had given Real Valladolid CF the lead at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, but there were no further goals after the interval. Elsewhere, Club Atlético de Madrid won 2-0 at Xerez CD, with Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero the scorers.