What They're Saying About Messi and Apoel Wednesday was one of the more remarkable days in Champions League history, with the incomparable Lionel Messi scoring five goals in Barcelona's 7-1 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen and Apoel becoming the first Cypriot club the advance to the quarterfinals when it defeated Lyon on penalties. In a day of heaping praise, Messi played it cool: "It's nice to score five goals." From Eurosport: To describe Lionel Messi as a good player, a great player, is a statement so facile as to render it pointless. Such is the utter brilliance of the Barcelona forward, we are not just running out of superlatives, as the old cliché has it, we are running out of ways to say we are running out of superlatives. He is a man for which conventional language is no longer sufficient. That did not mean people couldn't try. "We will not see another player like Messi,"" the same article quotes Pep Guardiola. It's not easy to score five goals, and one day he will score six. The throne is his. Only he will decide when to leave it. Here's some more reaction from a memorable evening: Guardiola "Tonight we witnessed one of [Lionel] Messi's most special nights; watching it was like receiving a gift." Xavi, Barcelona midfielder "He deserves the admiration of any sportsman. He is incomparable, a one-off. There is no other player who can make such a difference - he'll break all the records. Victor Valdes, Barcelona goalkeeper "At the end of the game I had to ask him if he had scored four or five goals." Robin Dutt, Bayer Leverkusen Coach "Without Messi, Barca is the best team. And with him, they are in another galaxy. Eric Cantona "I have always thought that Barca's play was incredible but Messi is exceptional." Apoel's victory leaned toward the dramatic instead of the decisive, but it's 4-3 win over Lyon after the teams tied 1-1 on aggregate might have been the biggest sports moment in Cyprus's history. Ivan Jovanovic, Apoel Coach "We never believed that we would be where we are today. But when you have players which so much confidence, then it is possible. When you have a stadium filled with fans like ours, then it is possible. This is fantastic for everyone. Nothing makes you happier than seeing so many people rejoice from your achievement. Dionisios Chiotis, Apoel goalkeeper "I feel joy and relief. We've achieved something no one would have thought possible at the start of the season. Things are getting serious now. We need to wait to see who else gets into the quarter-finals, but there isn't one team we would prefer to play - just let's not get Barcelona. Gustavo Manduca, Apoel forward "I don't want Barcelona. No one wants them, or Real Madrid. Every team is bigger than us and has more history than us, but we'll enjoy the games and we'll continue to dream - why not?