Dink: Messi slips the ball over Joe Hart to give Barcelona a 3-0 aggregate lead
Thanks: Messi celebrates in front of the Nou Camp crowd after his opening goal
Off you go: Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a second booking for disputing a penalty appeal with the referee
Down and out: City crashed out 4-1 on aggregate, and had two player sent off over both legs
Gutted: Edin Dzeko and his team-mates look dejected after conceding the opening goal
Winner: Alves blasts home for the winning goal on the night past Joe Hart
Rough and tumble: Substitute Dzeko is roughly handled by Pique at the Nou Camp
The quadruple is now the Capital One Cup and an uphill climb to wrest first spot off Chelsea.
City enjoyed moments of brightness here,
but a 4-1 aggregate defeat by what Jose Mourinho regards as the worst
Barcelona team in recent memory is hardly confidence-building.
Mourinho wasn’t alone in thinking this
was a tie in which City might come of age. Instead it has ended in
defeat and no little dishonour, if UEFA throw the book at Zabaleta,
having already banned his manager.
City are hardly Michel Platini’s favourites as it is.
So what went wrong? Basically, it is hard
to win the toughest competition in Europe with one competent centre
half and that has been Manchester City’s mission.
With Martin Demichelis banned for the
second leg, Joleon Lescott stepped up as Vincent Kompany’s partner, and
one presumes he will be stepping down once an adequate replacement is
found.
He was lucky not to be booked for a foul on Lionel Messi after six minutes, lucky not to concede a penalty to him soon after.
City should have been a goal behind in
the first half when Lannoy disallowed one from Neymar that should have
stood, and when Lescott got in a tangle from a Cesc Fabregas pass on 67
minutes, the rest was history. As were Manchester City.
Mishap: Lescott's mistake inside the area led to the opening goal for Messi
Friends reunited: Yaya Toure hugs former team-mate Messi at the final whistle
No say: Man City's manager Manuel Pellegrini looked on from the stands as he serves his touchline ban
Great chance: Pablo Zableta looks furious with himself after missing an opportunity after half-time
Another record for Messi
Lionel Messi has overtaken Raul as the top Champions League scorer with a single club...
1 Messi 67
2 Raul 66
3 Cristiano Ronaldo 46
(Raul scored five goals with Schalke so remains top overall)
One error is all it takes for Messi to
decide a game, and poor Lescott was a calamity waiting to happen. He had
his work cut out early and City were often stretched to breaking point
by Barcelona’s forward invention.
The Fabregas pass, straight, eye of the
needle in its ambition, bamboozled him, the ball bouncing off his feet
and ankles as if connected by a rubber band. It found its way to Messi,
who made the score 3-0 on aggregate. The tie was over, and at terrible
cost.
The great ones usually have a trademark and for Messi it is that little dink he plays, one on one.
Down the throat: Samir Nasri had City's best chance in the first half, but his half-volley was saved by Valdes
Floored: Manchester City's Aleksandar Kolarov falls in front of Daniel Alves
Finished it off: Alves smashes home in injury time past three City players on the line
Behind him: Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes celebrates Dani Alves' goal
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