Twice during the first half, the industrious, experienced goal poacher was in the right place at the right time to finish off chances created by Franck Ribéry and David Alaba.

Heynckes explained that his team now faces three games each week as it chases trophies in three competitions, and it is going to need alternatives who can step in, as the 32-year-old Olic did so ably.

“It is a good feeling,” Olic said after the game. “To play in the Champions League is always special, but I am happy to have scored and helped the team through to the semifinals.” Happier still, one imagines, to hear the crowd express its approval of a not-so-forgotten player.

It was in the Camp Nou, however, where the people really showed their understanding.

Yes, the Catalans were happy because everything, including the crucial refereeing decisions, went their way.

Yes, there was a celebratory atmosphere because, in reaching its fifth consecutive semifinal in Europe’s most coveted event, Barcelona equaled the feat carried out long ago by Real Madrid, back in 1956-60.

And yes, Messi, still only 24 years of age, equaled or beat several European records. He is more, much more, than an accumulator of statistics, but on the night that Messi became the youngest player to pass 50 goals in the Champions League, he also equaled the 14 goals in one European season set by Milan’s former great, the Brazilian José Altafini, in 1962-3.

The crowd at Barcelona, Messi’s crowd, is accustomed to his surpassing all the records. But if you listened to the noise in the Camp Nou, it reached its crescendo when Iniesta, just as loved in this stadium, scored the third and final goal for Barça.