Pep Guardiola Comments on Barcelona vs. Manchester City, Claudio Bravo, More

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola conceded after his side's 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday that the game was over as soon as Sky Blues goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off in the 53rd minute.

City were only 1-0 down at the Camp Nou in their UEFA Champions League Group C clash against Guardiola's former club when Bravo was given his marching orders for deliberate handball, having gifted possession to Luis Suarez.

Barca subsequently scored three more goals in the final half-hour of action, and the City boss admitted there was no way back for his side once they were down to 10 men, per the Daily Mail's Chris Wheeler: "It’s always difficult to play Barcelona with 11 players. With 10, the game was over. Until then, the game was well-balanced. We know Barca. Their strikers punish you. When [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and Suarez attack you, it’s very complicated. We played with personality and were brave."

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Barcelona	3	3	0	0	13	1	12	9
Manchester City	3	1	1	1	7	7	0	4
Borussia Monchengladbach	3	1	0	2	3	6	-3	3
Celtic	3	0	1	2	3	12	-9	1

Guardiola insisted, though, that Wednesday's loss was not the worst of his managerial career, instead citing Real Madrid's 4-0 drubbing of his Bayern Munich side in the Champions League semi-final in 2014, per Sport: "No. [this was not the worst defeat of my career]. That was against Real Madrid [with] Bayern Munich because there I didn’t make the right decision. We are a new club. We come here, we play, we arrive, we associate well, we create chances. I remember two or three chances." 

Messi's hat-trick put the game out of sight after 69 minutes before Neymar completed the rout with one minute to play, having already seen a penalty saved by replacement City goalkeeper Willy Caballero. 

City were culpable for a number of defensive mistakes on the night—not least Bravo's misplaced pass, having rushed out of his area to meet the ball—and ITV pundit Roy Keane branded Guardiola's tactics as "brave but stupid," footage shared by ITV Football:

It is certainly true that the Catalan's insistence that his team, including the goalkeeper, always play the ball out from the back was, in part, responsible for the margin of defeat.

However, Guardiola was insistent that he will not change the way he plays as a result, per Wheeler: "No change. It stays the same. Until the last day of my career as a coach, I will try to play from our goalkeeper. I spoke with [Bravo]. He was disappointed, but it’s part of the game. I don’t have doubts about him."

Per Bleacher Report, questions had already been asked about Bravo's reliability before the match:

But though the Chilean stopper's mistake was the most significant and glaring of the night, it was by no means the only blemish on City's performance, per Sergi Dominguez of Grup 14:

Guardiola surprisingly opted to start with Sergio Aguero on the bench and Kevin De Bruyne playing as a false nine.

Despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise, City matched Barcelona for much of the game and had a number of chances to get on the scoresheet before Bravo was sent off—Blaugrana goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had an excellent game.

Aguero—City's top scorer this season—was not introduced until the game was all but gone, with 11 minutes remaining. Guardiola later explained why the Argentinian had started on the bench, per Wheeler: "I wanted one more midfield player in that position—that’s the reason why. The decision was made this afternoon. I spoke with him, and he was good."

Following Wednesday's clash, Barcelona are firmly in charge of Group C, as they sit top of the standings with three wins from three games, five points clear of second-placed City and six ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach in third.

City face Barca again in their next Champions League clash, on Nov. 1, and they need to get a result at the Etihad Stadium to avoid a nervy finish to the group stage as they attempt to reach the knockout rounds.