Barcelona vs. Manchester City: Score, Grades, Reaction from Champions League
Barcelona moved into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over visiting Manchester City on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou.
The hosts, and especially Lionel Messi, put on a masterclass at times, dominating their Premier League guests throughout the opening 45 minutes. But their superiority yielded only the single goal, with Ivan Rakitic netting in the 31st minute following fine work from Messi on the break.
Barca certainly would have scored more if not for a fine performance from City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who kept his side in the match with several key saves.
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The visitors had a chance to equalise in the 78th minute after improving in the second half, but Sergio Aguero saw his penalty saved.
Combined with a 2-1 win in the first leg last month, Barcelona advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Barcelona will now move on to the last eight of the Champions League, and if they can match the form they produced in the first half against City, Luis Enrique's side will be one of the favourites to claim Europe's most prestigious club prize this spring.
One of Barca's chief rivals for the trophy could be Bayern Munich, a team managed by former Barca boss Pep Guardiola, who took in Wednesday's match from the stands. Perhaps that was a sign of respect from Guardiola, who will know better than anyone how difficult it will be to defeat Barcelona on top form. Or perhaps the former Blaugrana captain simply wanted to watch his old club at their best.
Which is where Barcelona were at times Wednesday night. Especially in the opening half, Messi and company commanded the pitch, passing and moving with grace and artistry. If the Blaugrana can replicate that form, a treble of trophies—in the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey—is certainly possible.
Up next, Barca host Real Madrid on Sunday in El Clasico. The Blaugrana currently top the Spanish league table, one point ahead of Madrid, and a victory would put Enrique's side firmly in control of the title race.
For Manchester City, meanwhile, Wednesday's loss will serve as another disappointment in a season that is in danger of finishing without silverware. Already out of the FA Cup, City's only remaining chance for a trophy is the Premier League.
Up next for the Sky Blues, who trail leaders Chelsea by six points, is a home match against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Barcelona took control of the second leg from the opening whistle, dominating possession and pinning Manchester City in their own half. On Twitter, Matt Dickinson of The Times illustrated the extent of Barca's dominance by joking about the tough time City midfielder Fernandinho endured:
Barca created their first big chance in the sixth minute as Dani Alves won possession off City centre-back Vincent Kompany. Neymar collected the ball on the left, hitting a low shot off the base of the near post. As it rolled across the face of goal, the ball came tantalisingly close to crossing the line but instead rolled out for a goal-kick on the opposite side.
The hosts came close again in the 11th minute following a vintage move involving Messi and Andres Iniesta. The two played a give-and-go in the box, setting up Messi for a shot from a tight angle on the left, which City goalkeeper Hart saved.
City had a sight of goal in the 14th minute as Yaya Toure burst into the box on the right and pulled back into the middle for James Milner. Alves made a crucial intervention, putting off Milner just enough to prevent a shot from close range.
Messi came close with a pair of free-kicks in the 16th and 28th minutes, curling over the bar both times. The opening goal was beginning to feel inevitable, and it arrived in the 31st minute as Barca hit City on the break.
Messi served as provider, dribbling in space down the right flank before picking out Rakitic at the back post with a beautiful, raking pass over the top of City's defence. Rakitic still had plenty of work to do, chesting the ball down before poking his finish past the onrushing Hart for the opener.
Frustration began to show for City, with Samir Nasri perhaps fortunate to escape a red card for a cynical kick on Neymar in the 35th minute. The French midfielder did receive a yellow card for the challenge, City's fourth booking of the first half.
Messi sliced open City's defence again in the 40th minute with an angled, lofted ball to Neymar on the left side of the box. Instead of shooting, however, Neymar tried to square the ball back into the middle, and City cleared.
Barca's final chance of the first half came in the 44th minute, as Luis Suarez ran on to Neymar's through ball and lifted his shot past Hart. The ball looked destined for the back of the net, but instead it bounced off the far post and away to safety.
The onslaught continued at the onset of the second half. In the 46th minute, Hart saved an Iniesta volley after Bacary Sagna's headed clearance flew only as far as the edge of the box.
In the 48th minute, Rakitic blasted wide of the target after bursting inside from the right. Moments later, Hart saved from close range on Jordi Alba following a Messi through ball.
Hart then saved again in the 49th minute, pushing away Messi's fierce drive from outside the box.
City gradually began to improve. In the 57th minute, Aleksandar Kolarov tested Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a long-range effort, moments after Aguero nearly caught the Barcelona goalkeeper off his line.
Barcelona created another big chance in the 63rd minute, with Neymar, Messi and Suarez combining to dangerous effect. After accepting a pass from Neymar, Messi freed Suarez with a pass on the left. The Uruguayan lined up a powerful shot, but the ball flew into the side-netting on the wrong side of the post.
Chances followed at both ends in the 65th minute. City substitute Jesus Navas created danger down the right before pulling back into a promising position in the middle. Barcelona managed to clear after a moment of pinball in the box, and the hosts quickly moved forward on the counter, with Messi unable to shoot from a tight angle moments later at the other end.
Toure shot into the side-netting with a thundering effort in the 67th minute as City continued to push forward in search of goals.
Barcelona had a goal ruled out in the 71st minute, wiping out Alba's tap-in after Hart kick-saved Neymar's initial effort.
City made a bold change in the 72nd minute, bringing on striker Wilfried Bony in place of Toure, a midfielder. Bony had a first sight of goal one minute later, curling a first-time shot over the bar from outside the box.
Hart made another key save in the 77th minute, stopping Neymar one-on-one after the Brazilian ran on to an Iniesta pass. Moments later at the other end, City found a lifeline as Barcelona conceded a penalty.
Gerard Pique was the guilty party, drawing the referee's whistle after Aguero went to ground in the box. Barca's players protested the decision, but Ter Stegen stopped the penalty one minute later, moving to his right to paw away Aguero's spot-kick.
Barca came close once more in the 79th minute, but Hart came to City's rescue again, rushing off his line to pick the ball off Neymar's foot following Suarez's fine through pass.
The hosts continued to attack at full-time approached, but still there was no way past Hart. The England goalkeeper stopped Suarez from a tight angle in the 86th minute, then raced across his line to block a Messi shot from close range three minutes later.
One more chance came Barca's way in stoppage time, but once again, Hart saved Neymar's high drive at the near post.
In the end, Barcelona had to be content with the single goal, but if not for Hart in City's goal, it could have been an entirely different story.
Grades
| Marc-Andre ter Stegen | 8 |
| Dani Alves | 8 |
| Gerard Pique | 7 |
| Jeremy Mathieu | 7 |
| Jordi Alba | 8 |
| Javier Mascherano | 7 |
| Ivan Rakitic | 8 |
| Andres Iniesta | 8 |
| Neymar | 8 |
| Lionel Messi | 9 |
| Luis Suarez | 8 |
| Rafinha (for Rakitic, 84') | No rating |
| Adriano (for Alves, 90') | No rating |
| Joe Hart | 9 |
| Bacary Sagna | 6 |
| Vincent Kompany | 6 |
| Martin Demichelis | 6 |
| Aleksandar Kolarov | 6 |
| Samir Nasri | 5 |
| Fernandinho | 5 |
| Yaya Toure | 6 |
| James Milner | 6 |
| David Silva | 6 |
| Sergio Aguero | 5 |
| Jesus Navas (for Nasri, 46') | 6 |
| Wilfried Bony (for Toure, 72') | 6 |
| Frank Lampard (for Milner, 87') | No rating |
Reaction
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic, via BBC Sport:
"I think the side did a great job. You saw a great Barcelona performance. We don't want to stop, and now comes the best part of the season.
Joe Hart had a great game, but we were good too and we deserved to win. Now we have to enjoy our win and rest well.
"
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, via Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport):
"We've gone out to a magnificent side for the second time in two years. They will get a lot of plaudits but we had a big chance with the penalty. We hung in there and didn't take it.
It's unfortunate that I saved a penalty from Lionel Messi and it didn't count in the end. I'm in there to make saves and they hit me a lot of times tonight. I was busy, it was definitely busy! I just tried to smother them, they are always looking for a pass and you have to try and make them rush. I don't know how Neymar's chance stayed out at the start."
"
Manchester City midfielder James Milner, via Sky Sport (h/t BBC Sport):
"Joe Hart was incredible. He's shown what a great goalkeeper he is. It could have been out of sight but he was amazing tonight. We didn't show our best over booth legs for long enough.
"
