Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has ended whatever honeymoon period new striker Mario Balotelli was enjoying at Anfield, telling him he needs to start scoring goals after finding the net just once in seven appearances for Liverpool.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
When Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was greeted with a hail of eggs and spat at on his first day at work he could not have imagined he would lead them to the brink of an unprecedented treble of titles in his first season.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Manchester City swept aside second-tier Cardiff City 2-0 with first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on Sunday to reach the FA Cup fifth round in their quest to win an unprecedented four trophies this season.
Lionel Messi had to wait 12 years and endure a goal drought of eight games against Chelsea but he finally broke his duck in Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League last 16, first leg draw.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The favourites to win next year's World Cup in Russia were given navigable paths to the last 16 with the coaches of Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain having reason to feel reasonably optimistic after Friday's draw.
Ecuador's World Cup ended because of a single moment of brilliance by the England captain, said Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez.
UEFA elects a new president on Wednesday whose main task will be to stop what European officials say is an inexorable slide towards a breakaway football Super League open only to wealthy clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas believes the European champions have a side with the potential to be one of the all-time greats and it will be with likely trepidation that an off-colour Liverpool visit the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez is keeping the balance amidst the World Cup hype by reading inspirational books
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Included in Barcelona squad to face Dortmund
Liverpool's hopes of winning their first title in 24 years suffered a huge setback when they lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea and Manchester City took advantage with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace.
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win at home to Levante on Sunday, finding the net in a league game for the first time in more than four months and becoming the youngest player to net a La Liga double. Romelu Lukaku scored a quickfire second-half double to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Udinese on Sunday, ending their run of three successive 1-1 league draws.
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the Premier League
Barcelona snapped a four-match winless run in La Liga with a 4-2 home victory over title rivals Sevilla on Saturday to reclaim top spot but the triumph was marred by talisman Lionel Messi fracturing his arm and being ruled out for three weeks.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League while Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi could be out for up to two months with a knee injury and rampant Bayern Munich extended their perfect start to seven league wins.
The early signs from the Confederations Cup are that Brazil's fans can help rather than hinder the team at home, reports of Spain's demise are premature and the heat is going to cause problems for everyone at the World Cup.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Liverpool see Tuesday's Champions League game at holders Real Madrid as a chance to prove their doubters wrong and get their season back on track, said coach Brendan Rodgers and midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros ($263 million) transfer from Barcelona to Paris St Germain is set to be completed this week with the French club poised to pay his release clause.
The match marks just the second time, and first in 35 years, that El Clasico will be played outside Spain.
Liverpool's 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday was more than an early season setback - it raised the question of whether they have the strength in depth to cope with the dual challenge ahead of them this term.
From the FIFA World Cup finals to the spot-fixing scandals that rocked Indian cricket, we pick the key sporting events on the 2014 calendar.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
An Eden Hazard hat-trick swept Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge after previous leaders Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool.
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
La Liga leaders Barcelona handed Real Madrid more hope in the title race as they drew 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, only avoiding defeat thanks to some outstanding saves by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
Argentina, helped by a majestic Juan Roman Riquelme performance, maintained their perfect record in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday while Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez quit after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay. Riquelme scored two second half goals, including an exquisite free kick, in a 3-0 win over Bolivia which left Argentina with nine points from three games in the South American group.
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