The silence was golden, though a full-house Camp Nou is the antithesis of silent.

A few facts might dispel any theories that Madrid did not get a fair shake. It lost the first leg by conceding two goals to Messi at the Bernabeu. This time, in a far less malicious encounter, and with less acting from Barcelona’s players, the math was overwhelming: Barca had 64 percent of ball possession. It completed 631 passes to Madrid’s 261. It had 11 shots on goal to 3 for Madrid.

And in Messi it has, surely, the finest player in the world.

It was reported from Italy that Gianluca Vialli, a fabulous player in his own time, said on Sky Sport Italia at halftime: “Ronaldo is a great player, but when the team really needs him in the big knockout games, he doesn’t do it. He goes to sleep. This is the difference between Ronaldo and Messi.”

Harsh, and possibly a little unfair. Cristiano Ronaldo is not on the same team as Messi, and he is not served by players like Iniesta or Xavi Hernández, or even big defenders like Gerard Pique, who makes Messi the focal point of his exceptional passes.

Messi, though he sometimes looks as if he has yet to grow into his uniform, is always available, always willing and as courageous as any superstar can be.

That he didn’t score Tuesday is largely because of the play of Casillas. He did the next best thing, though: he played decoy for the goal. Iniesta set it up with a pass that deliberately missed Messi, the ball passing along the turf into the stride of Pedro Hernandez.