The Rifle offers hope for Barca's tough mission

MADRID, April 30 (Reuters) - If Barcelona require extra inspiration as they prepare their bid to overturn a 4-0 Champions League semi-final deficit at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, they need look no further than La Liga rivals Deportivo La Coruna.

Depor pulled off one of the most sensational comebacks in Europe's elite club competition back in the 2003-04 season when they thrashed AC Milan 4-0 in their quarter-final second leg in La Coruna to shock the reigning continental champions and progress to the last four 5-4 on aggregate.

Uruguayan forward Walter Pandiani scored the opening goal in the fifth minute at the Riazor on that memorable April night, when the Galician club stunned a Milan side featuring Paolo Maldini, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko.

Now 37 and playing in the Spanish third tier for Majorca-based Atletico Baleares, Pandiani believes Barca will also need an early goal if they are to have any chance of reaching next month's final at London's Wembley stadium.

"Scoring so early in the match was key for the team to gain confidence," Pandiani, whose goal-scoring prowess earned him the nickname "The Rifle", said on UEFA's website (www.uefa.com).

"If you don't manage to score in the first half, as soon as possible, then you start to rush things," he added.
"That early goal gave us the peace of mind to continue playing well."

Barca's chances of keeping alive their bid for a third European crown in five years may appear remote, especially as they failed to score in Munich, but Pandiani said Depor were in a similar situation in 2004.
"Even if we were achieving important things in the Champions League nobody believed in us, especially because it was Milan we were up against," he said.

"But we believed in ourselves and our fans were also there to spur us on.

"The excitement in the dressing-room at halftime showed that it would be difficult for them to do us damage that night if we continued with the same mentality."

CUTTING EDGE

On the evidence of Saturday's 2-2 La Liga draw at Athletic Bilbao, Barca's hopes on Wednesday will again rest on the shoulders of their World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.

Messi, who is coming back from a hamstring strain, was initially rested in Bilbao and Barca found their cutting edge only when he replaced midfielder Xavi on the hour before scoring once and setting up Alexis Sanchez.

He appeared short on fitness and was well shackled by the Bayern players in Munich last week and even the talismanic Argentine may not be able to rescue Barca's Champions League campaign this time.

They already had to come from behind to get past AC Milan in the last 16 when they lost 2-0 in Italy before Messi inspired them to a rousing 4-0 victory at the Nou Camp.

Only three clubs have overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit in UEFA competition and Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes was on the losing side on one of those occasions.

He was in charge of the Borussia Moenchengladbach side that beat Real Madrid 5-1 at home in the 1985-86 UEFA Cup third round only to lose the return game 4-0.

"It was the worst moment of my career. I no longer wanted to be a football coach," Heynckes said on UEFA.com. "It was worse than the death threats I received later in my career."

Elimination for Barca would leave La Liga as their only chance of silverware this season and, with an 11-point lead over current champions Real Madrid with five games left, they are close to a fourth title in five seasons.

However, a domestic league crown would be scant consolation for a team who have set a new standard for European clubs in recent seasons and won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011.

SUSPENSION RISK

Heynckes has said he will not be instructing his team to play a cautious game on Wednesday despite a string of players risking suspension for the final with another booking.

"I will nominate my best possible team," he said after Bayern, already installed as German champions, set a Bundesliga record of 84 for the most points in a season with a 1-0 victory over Freiburg on Saturday.

"My players will have to be disciplined and that means no gestures, no unnecessary fouls and no falling for any provocation. That will be decisive."

Six players, including captain Philipp Lahm, central defender Dante and playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger, will miss the final if they pick up another yellow card.

"I want the same attitude, commitment and tactical play (as in the first leg)," said Heynckes, who will make way for former Barca coach Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.

"They are still the best team in the world. We know they have had great results and comebacks at home. Their pride has been wounded and they will try everything."

Teams (probable):

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 2-Daniel Alves, 3-Gerard Pique, 15-Marc Bartra, 21-Adriano; 6-Xavi, 16-Sergio Busquets, 8-Andres Iniesta; 17-Pedro, 10-Lionel Messi, 7-David Villa
Bayern Munich: 1-Manuel Neuer; 21-Philipp Lahm, 17-Jerome Boateng, 4-Dante, 27-David Alaba; 31-Bastian Schweinsteiger, 8-Javi Martinez; 10-Arjen Robben, 25-Thomas Mueller, 7-Franck Ribery; 9-Mario Mandzukic
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Juve, Napoli and Inter win

Juventus need four points to successfully defend the Serie A title after Arturo Vidal's penalty decided a crucial 1-0 victory over AC Milan.

While the Rossoneri sweat over their chances of competing in next season's Champions League, Juve can seal a second straight Scudetto by winning next Sunday's derby meeting with Torino, should second-placed Napoli fail to beat Pescara.

A Vidal penalty in the second half was the difference between the two sides, who are now separated by 18 points with five games remaining.

A last-gasp goal from substitute Lorenzo Insigne settled a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cagliari to keep Napoli's faint Serie A title hopes alive.

When Victor Ibarbo edged the Sardinians ahead midway through the first half, it looked like Napoli were finally thwarted in their attempt to catch leaders Juventus over the remaining five games.

A double salvo from Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani just after the interval briefly made amends until Cagliari's Marco Sau made it 2-2 with 20 minutes remaining.

A late strike from Tommaso Rocchi lifted some of the pressure off Inter Milan and under fire boss Andrea Stramaccioni as they beat Parma 1-0 at the San Siro.

Roma slipped out of the European places after being held to a disappointing 1-1 home draw by rock-bottom Pescara, who picked up only their second point in 14 matches.

Gianluca Caprari gave Pescara a shock 14th-minute lead at the Stadio Olimpico and although Roma got back on level terms at the start of the second half through Mattia Destro, the home side could not force a winner.

Romulo's 86th-minute strike spared Fiorentina's blushes and earned a 4-3 win after plucky 10-man Torino had looked to have earned a share of the spoils by fighting back from three goals down.

La Viola needed the Brazilian to come to their rescue despite appearing on course for a thumping win as goals from Juan Cuadrado, Alberto Aquilani and Adem Ljajic put them 3-0 ahead just after the opening half hour.

Barreto gave the visitors hope just before the interval and strikes from Mario Santana and Alessio Cerci put them back on an even keel, but Romulo ensured their endeavour was not rewarded late on.

To compound their misery, Matteo Darmian was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.

Josip Ilicic scored at the death in the Sicilian derby to deny 10-man Catania all three points and keep Palermo within touching distance of a future in Serie A in a 1-1 draw.

Defeat at the Stadio Angelo Massimino, which seemed inevitable following Pablo Barrientos' opener midway through the second half, would have left the Rosanero second from bottom and three points from safety.

Ilicic had other ideas, though, sparing his side's blushes and dragging the club to within a point of 17th-placed Siena with a confident finish four minutes into second half stoppage time.

Two of Serie A's midtable clubs played out a 1-1 draw at the Renato Dall'Ara after Gianluca Sansone cancelled out Alberto Gilardino's first half strike.

With Bologna and Sampdoria sitting 12th and 14th, neither came into the match with much to play for, safe from the threat of relegation with little chance of challenging for a European place.

Sergio Pellissier virtually secured Chievo's Serie A status for next season with the only goal of a 1-0 victory at struggling Siena, who remain one point above the relegation zone.

The Flying Donkeys opened a 10-point gap over the bottom three as 17th-placed Siena failed to respond to Pellissier's effort on the stroke of half-time.