Messi: Barcelona were spectacular, this is who we are Champions League Broke his quarter-final hoodoo

Barcelona reached the Champions League's semi-finals as they saw off Manchester United, overcoming their quarter-final curse in the process.

Lionel Messi scored twice as he inspired the Catalans in the first half, delivering his very best to torture the English side.

"It was spectacular," a beaming Messi said afterwards.

"This is who we are. We were cold and nervous for the first five minutes.

"I don't know why, but then we took control."

Messi opened the scoring on the night by pouncing on a defensive error, before doubling the lead as David de Gea allowed the Argentine's tame effort to squeeze under his body.

"I was lucky [on the first goal]," he admitted.

"The second I had even more luck.

"But the important thing is that we achieved our goal of reaching the quarter-finals, which we hadn't for a long time."

Barcelona still have hopes of winning all three competitions this year, but the Argentine isn't thinking too far ahead.

"Let's take it step by step, little by litte," he said.

"Now we have LaLiga Santander and we can't relax, before dealing with the semi-finals with the respect it deserves."