Barcelona have a foot in the quarter finals of the Uefa Champions League as they beat Manchester City 2-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 tie that was played at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night. Lionel Messi scored the first from the penalty spot after Martin Demichelis had fouled him and Dani Alves scored the second on the dot of full time.
Barcelona started on the front foot and had close to 85% possession in the first 10 minutes though they did not threaten Joe Hart’s goal. Manchester City started with two left-backs in Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov – using the duo to negate the forward thrust of Dani Alves.
This was a reaction from Manuel Pellegrini so as not to lose the midfield tussle. Alvaro Negredo started alone upfront and was feeding on scraps in the earlier moments of the match and could have made more of a lofted pass in the 15th minute, which he did not bring under control with only Javier Mascherano and Victor Valdes to beat.
A minute later, Yaya Toure suddenly burst into life and left three players for dead in the midfield and in the 18th minute, David Silva threaded in a pass to Negredo who rounded Valdez but the angle got too tight for the Spaniard but City were playing better at this time and forcing Barcelona backwards.
Alves got the first yellow card of the match in the 23rd minute after another mis-timed tackle on Clichy. From the resultant free kick from Silva, panic was created in the Barcelona box with Valdez finally getting his gloves on the ball though the whistle went for jostling.
Negredo fired off a snap shot in the 27th minute but it was well gathered by Valdez. A minute later, Barcelona had a shout for a penalty as an Alexis Sanchez cross cannoned off Clichy’s arm though replays showed that it was more ball to hand than an affront by the French defender.
Messi shot wide with his right foot in the 30th minute and Xavi had Barcelona’s first shot on target in the 31st minute and Hart needed two bites at the cherry to save the stinger from outside the box. The first half wound down with Barcelona content to keep the ball and City waiting to pounce.
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The second half started with Barcelona again enjoying a lot of the ball but the goal came from a silly playacting by Navas. In the 52nd minute, Navas confronted by Mascherano and Busquets hit the deck and the ball was quickly transmitted to Messi who was brought down by Martin Demichelis (who has been on the wane since Chelsea showed what a liability he could be) though video replays showed that the foul was outside the box. A red card was the right decision and Messi then coolly slotted past Hart.
Pellegrini then brought on Joeleen Lescott for Kolarov and Samir Nasri for Navas and that nearly paid an immediate dividend as Nasri combined beautifully with Negredo in the 61st minute but his shot was charged down by Pique. Alvez should have doubled Barcelona’s lead in the 67th minute when a give and go with Sanchez saw him have a chance at Hart’s goal but he shot marginally wide. In the 69th minute, Silva freed Clichy down the left but with so much time and three players to pick out, his cross was straight into Valdez’s hands. Pellegrini would have wanted Kolarov in that situation.
Neymar came on for Sanchez in the 72nd minute while Edin Dzeko came on for Negredo. City were almost level in the 76th minute but Valdez made a wonderful stop from Silva’s right-footed shot. Pique scored in the 80t minute off a pass from Fabregas, who was adjudged to be offside.
Barcelona finally scored their second goal in the 90th minute as Alves, slipped in by Neymar scored with a shot between Hart’s legs to make the second leg more of a formality. City will have to wait another season to be a dominant force in Europe and they can now concentrate on winning the English Premier League.
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