Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona: Ten reasons why Manuel Pellegrini's side come up short in the Champions League
Wednesday 25 February 2015 01:00, UK
Joe Hart's stoppage-time penalty save from Lionel Messi capped a second-half comeback by Manchester City as they escaped with a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium.
Sergio Aguero's goal midway through the second half reduced the arrears but Luis Suarez's first-half brace has certainly put the Catalans in control. It could have been even worse, given that Gael Clichy was red carded for the hosts.
It's a familiar story for Manchester City in the Champions League and Manuel Pellegrini's men will need to pick up a result no team has managed all season at the Camp Nou if they are to progress. Here we look at 10 reasons why City continue to come up short against Europe's best…
Lack of belief
Manchester City had been accused of being too timid against Barcelona last season, when they looked like a group of players up against the Barca myth rather than the reality. There was little excuse for such an attitude on Tuesday, given that the Catalans were losing 1-0 at home to Malaga while City were putting five past Newcastle at the weekend. Instead, even goalkeeper Joe Hart admitted that the English champions "panicked" once Suarez put the visitors ahead. It was a worrying reaction for an experienced group who ought to have more conviction.
Formation folly
Perhaps that insecurity stems from the way Pellegrini set up his side. After having lost 2-0 at home in this very fixture last season, staying in the contest should surely have been the priority and a 4-4-2 formation felt unnecessarily reckless given the circumstances. It was simply too easy to play through this City team early on, as Barca found their front trio of Suarez, Messi and Neymar at will. Bringing Fernandinho on for Samir Nasri with an hour gone felt like an admission that Pellegrini might have at least opted for a more defensively-savvy midfield.
Strikers isolated
Even if the comeback provided some encouragement, the memory of the first half will linger and Pellegrini will surely regret the way his strikers were left looking so isolated with neither Aguero nor Edin Dzeko dropping in to put any pressure on Barcelona's midfield pivot Sergio Busquets. As a result, City's strikers were too isolated when the ball did reach them and that was reflected in their ball retention. Dzeko surrendered the ball 13 times in the opening 45 minutes and Aguero 11 times - the most of anyone on the pitch. It left City with little control and just 42 per cent possession.
Disorganised pressing
Barcelona had their moments before the opening goal but once Suarez rammed the ball beyond Hart with his left boot, as the goalkeeper acknowledged afterwards, City abandoned any semblance of pressing. There were cheers for every Barcelona touch began in the 23rd minute and City didn't see it again for almost two minutes more. City might not be at their most comfortable when pressing the ball but it remains essential against a team in no hurry to return it and the lack of a co-ordinated approach saw them surrender the initiative barely a quarter into the tie.
Kompany calamity
That organisation ought to come from the skipper but instead Vincent Kompany was the chief culprit. While he was a little unlucky for the first goal, the way he rushed out of the back line to close down Ivan Rakitic smacked of desperation. Pressing is pointless if you're going to go rogue and Rakitic's eyes would have lit up as he flicked the ball towards Messi and away from the onrushing centre-back. Messi's driving run then induced Pablo Zabaleta's attention and when the ball was fed to Jordi Alba, the Barca left-back had time to pick out Suarez with Kompany never able to relocate his man. Barca teased out the mistake but the City captain should have known better.
Quality counts
Messi might have ended the game as something of the villain, having spurned the opportunity to remove all doubt about the winner of this tie by wasting the chance to score from the spot in stoppage time but his performance was stunning. He was involved in both goals and completed 10 dribbles - more than anyone bar Eden Hazard at Maribor has managed in a Champions League game this season. Messi enjoyed himself roaming inside from the right flank and it's clear even City's great financial power has yet been unable to acquire a player of this quality. There's only one Messi and in that respect at least, perhaps City should not beat themselves up too much.
Midfield man missed
While Messi and Aguero were billed as the key men before kick-off, the City striker outscored his compatriot and still came out on the losing side. That only served to highlight the fact that Barca had Suarez to put them away while Messi pulled the strings from a deeper position. That's where City missed Yaya Toure. Fernando and James Milner were swamped with Nasri and Silva unsure of how narrow to play and Toure's ability carry the ball forwards would have provided much needed respite. City have won only four of 12 matches without Toure this season and this never looked likely to be a fixture in which they could get away without having their most influential player.
Moments of madness
Toure's decision to raise his hands to push away Roman Eremenko against CSKA Moscow was the reason for his absence on Tuesday and it's just one of a series of costly errors by City players in European competition. Martin Demichelis's red card was a huge blow against Barca last year and it was Clichy culpable this time around in getting sent off just when momentum was building. Some might argue that Dani Alves made the most of it but that's to be expected and a wild challenge when already on a booking was foolish. Zabaleta was fortunate to get away with his foul on Messi for the penalty too, and these are uncharacteristically desperate mistakes that must be cut out.
Old dogs and new tricks
How likely it is that City will ever learn to address these errors must now be in doubt. There has been talk for some time of how it requires experience to adjust to forging a successful European outfit, but it should not take this long to learn simple lessons. This is already an ageing City side closer to the end of their journey together than the beginning. Indeed, the 26-year-old Aguero was the youngest starter on Tuesday and it's he who looks the best prepared. So much for experience, perhaps it's fresh blood that's needed to bring this team to life.
Pellegrini’s problem
That conclusion could apply just as easily to the manager as anyone else. In fact, Pellegrini's inability to come up with a clear strategy to win the biggest games is becoming a real concern. The Chilean did deliver the title in his first season but even that included two defeats in what might have been perceived at the time as title deciders against Chelsea, as well as a third key game against Liverpool.
That's now three defeats in a row against Barcelona too and while Pellegrini insists there are "no regrets" about his approach, these are the matches in which the manager must impress at a club with City's level of expectation. After all, as they found out once more on Tuesday against Barcelona, competent just doesn't cut it in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
