Barca take control

Andres Iniesta set the tone for the evening with a second-minute opener before Dani Alves doubled the hosts' lead before the half-time whistle.

Gerard Pique added a third soon after the break and, while Yaroslav Rakitskiy reduced the deficit on 59 minutes to give Shakhtar some brief hope, Seydou Keita blasted home less than a minute later to restore Barca's comfortable advantage.

The returning Xavi put further gloss to an already gleaming result with four minutes remaining to firmly plant one Blaugrana foot in the semi-final, where in all likelihood they will meet arch rivals Real Madrid.

Boosted by the inclusion of fully-fit World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Barca enjoyed the best possible start to the tie, taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off.

Messi, inevitably, was involved, as his pass looking for David Villa took a deflection and fell kindly at the feet of Iniesta. The World Cup winner took full advantage of his good fortune and coolly finished past Andriy Pyatov at his near post.

Barca, as is their way, stroked the ball around and enjoyed the better possession during an entertaining first half, but Shakhtar's threat on the break was all too evident early on.

With four vibrant Brazilians leading their attack, the Ukrainian side gave their hosts an uneasy time at the back, Alves in particular looking susceptible - not least on 13 minutes when a truly awful back pass forced Victor Valdes to clear under pressure from Luiz Adriano. The keeper's clearance only went as far as Willian, but his long-range effort flew over the bar.

Earlier, Adriano had showed his pace as he sped past Sergio Busquets - in at centre-half again for the injured Carles Puyol - but his prod on goal rolled just the wrong side of the upright.

But as the half progressed, Barca's grip on the game tightened and Pep Guardiola's side managed to turn their far superior possession into chances.

Messi curled a free-kick just wide of the mark before the Argentine brought Pyatov into action with an attempted chip soon after.

He then jinked through the Shakhtar defence before laying the ball off to Alves, but the Brazilian opted to cross when shooting would have been the better option.

Alves was in far better decision-making mood on 34 minutes when he ran on to Iniesta's long ball over the top of the defence, controlling superbly to take him past the advancing Pyatov before slotting into an empty net.

Pique, who scored the winner against Villarreal in La Liga at the weekend to take Barca eight points clear at the top of the table, got his second in as many games on 53 minutes. It came from a simple but beautifully-worked corner, which the defender, who had dropped off towards the penalty spot, met with a first-time effort.

Shakhtar briefly threatened to make the tie interesting on 59 minutes when Rakitskiy turned in a Dario Srna free-kick, but any hope of reducing the deficit was almost immediately extinguished when Keita smashed into the top left hand corner to restore Barca's three-goal advantage less than a minute later.

Adriano hit the post from a tight angle for Shakhtar with eight minutes remaining but it was Barca who finished with a flurry, Xavi capping an excellent performance with a simple tap-in from an Alves cross.

Shakhtar boast an enviable record at home, but with a four-goal deficit to overturn, it will now take some turnaround for the Ukrainian side to prevent Barca reaching another semi-final - and set up a Clasico on the European stage.