FULL TIME: Barcelona 4 - 0 Manchester City
Enrique and Guardiola embrace. The game was over when Bravo was sent off. Awful result for City and too many individual errors.
In many ways, City can take heart from tonight. Mistakes cost them - but their general performance was decent. Of the five games City have played against Barcelona in recent seasons, this was the best display.
90 mins: Famous faces in the crowd
Khaldoon and Ferran looking on. They don’t look too pleased.
The key moment?
Neymar is a genius
Neymar skipped past Stones and finished superbly. Great goal.
89 mins: Neymar scores! 4-0 to Barca
Neymar scores a lovely goal.
87 mins: Caballero saves!
Neymar’s penalty is saved by Caballero!
PENALTY TO BARCELONA
Kolarov fouls Messi. Penalty.
This is true
Harsh.
Bravo red
Madness.
A moment of madness from @C1audioBravo who is shown red on his return to the Nou Camp.#UCL #FCBCity
81 mins: Willy with a save
Neymar peels off the City defenders, Rakitic finds him - but his shot is well saved by Caballero.
Match shot
Gundogan has gone off. Produced some great passes.
78 mins: Subs
Gundogan OFF - Aguero ON
Iniesta OFF - Andre Gomes ON
The Goat is watching
Messi. The best.
73 mins: Red card for Mathieu
Awful from Mathieu. Slid in recklessly to take Strerling out. Outrageous decision. He’s off.
71 mins: Another chance for City
Barca ride their luck again. Kolarov’s free-kick was palmed away by Ter Stegen - and the onrushing Blues just couldn’t connect.
69 mins: Messi goal
Another loose ball in the build up ends with a tap in for Messi.
Match shot
Spanish Dave
Robson questions Bravo
Okay, we all accept Guardiola just didn’t fancy Joe Hart as his number one. But you begin to wonder just how much of an improvement Bravo is.In the stadium where Hart produced one of the all time great goalkeeping performances, Bravo’s calamity killed off any hope of City getting something from this game.Well, Guardiola did admit he tried to sign Ter Stegen in the summer.
63 mins: Great move from City
Gundogan plays a lovely throughball into the path of De Bruyne, whose shot is well saved by Ter Stegen.
Stu's view
City could be in for a hiding here, and it’s such a shame as they had made a real contest of this up until Claudio Bravo’s dreadful clanger.Guardiola has to decide how to handle this - damage limitation or risk trying to get back into the game - the latter would be madness, especially as qualification in second place could yet come down to goal difference.
61 mins: Lovely strike
De Bruyne gave the ball away, Iniesta plays it into Messi on the edge of the area and his low shot beats Caballero. 2-0.
61 mins: Barcelona 2-0 City
Messi scores his second! 2-0 now. Game over, surely.
True
Discipline an issue.
56 mins: Double sub
Willy Caballero ON in place of Nolito.
Clichy ON in place of Zabaleta.
Willy coming on. Pablo Zabaleta took a hefty challenge from Digne and had had to go off with blood on his sock. Amazing few minutes.
52 mins: Red card for Bravo
Unbelievable moment. Bravo comes out to deal with a long ball, gives it away and then handballs it to stop Suarez’s shot going in.
Blatant red card.
47 mins: City starting well
Lovely combination from Sterling and De Bruyne. The Belgian crosses and Mascherano’s sliced clearance does the job.
Moments later, De Bruyne shoots from a tight angle - saved by Ter Stegen.
46 mins: Let's go
Second half underway.
Working harder than ever
Silva.
HT verdict
City have been impressive. Barcelona have had very few chances and their best players have been kept relatively quiet.
City have created a few really, really good chances.
Should be level, at the very least.
Fan view
That’s the spirit.
City have looked comfortable for much of the half - and they created a few decent chances towards the end. Brilliant effort from Gundogan.
@ManCityMEN goal will come from city for sure
Fan view
Goals on the bench.
HT thoughts, Blues?
@ManCityMEN need Aguero on
Brennan's HT verdict
HT Barcelona 1 City 0. Barcelona have the lead, but Manchester City are showing that, finally, they have shed their Champions League inferiority complex in this first half.And if the officials had spotted a clear handball in the box by Lucas Digne after Raheem Sterling had again carved them open, they would have had a penalty.They trail through that poor decision and because Fernandinho slipped at the crucial moment, just as the ball popped loose in the penalty area – and Lionel Messi was the next nearest player to it.The goal came against the run of play – City had looked the more fluid attacking unit.And that makes such a change from the previous four meetings between these two, when City always had an air of desperation, nd lacked vital self-belief whenever they went forward.And with Jordi Alba going off after he had been given a runaround by Raheem Sterling, the game swung back in Barca’s favour.Alba’s replacement Digne has stuck more closely to Sterling, cutting the main source of City threat – although Ilkay Gundogan’s quick feet deserved a finish, his effort being well saved by Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
Fan view
Close game.
HT thoughts, Blues?
@ManCityMEN matched them really, but of fortune in their goal.
Fan view
More to come?
HT thoughts, Blues?
@ManCityMEN promosing but unlucky
Fan view
Unlucky to be behind.
HT thoughts, Blues?
@ManCityMEN Made one mistake and now we're down. Plenty of chances, however
45 mins: De Bruyne chance
Sterling beats two defenders down the right, plays De Bruyne in - but his effort hits the side netting.
44 mins: End to end
Silva flights a brilliant ball towards the back post - John Stones meets it and should score. But he doesn’t.
That was a golden opportunity.
Moments later, Bravo saves from Suarez brilliantly with his feet.
43 mins: City still pressing
Quick thinking from Nolito to take the corner quickly - Barca were sleeping - and Gundogan slices his effort onto the roof of the net.
Robson's view of the Gundogan chance
Lovely stuff from Gundogan to skip into the box before forcing Ter Stegen into a save.To think we thought he’d play as a holding midfielder when he signed from Dortmund.
40 mins: Barca quiet
Barca have barely created anything. They scored a fortuitous goal, had one or two other sighters - but other than that, have been largely anonymous.
City growing into this game again now.
37 mins: Gundogan brilliant!
What a save from Ter Stegen!!!
Wonderful run from Gundogan, who danced past Pique, who then unleashed a superb strike - and what a save that was from the German.
City’s best chance.
36 mins: Nolito forces save
Silva slips in Nolito - and his strike is well saved by the feet of Ter Stegen.
Bravo praise
Love him.
31 mins: Great chance for Barca
Messi free-kick from the left, Rakitic gets there ahead of Otamendi - but his header is way off target. Real chance.
30 mins: Robson senses a change in momentum
The goal has completely changed the game. City had looked confident up until Messi struck, without creating anything of real note.But Barca look totally in their element now.
27 mins: Unlucky
Other than that one moment that brought the goal - and there was a large slice of misfortune about it - City have looked more than comfortable.
City fans every right to feel a little hard done by.
Kolarov
Action shot
Friends
Pre-match shot.
Sweet
Beautiful setting.
21 mins: Barca looking dangerous
Messi starting to up the ante now. He’s weaving patterns and going at defenders, making them uncomfortable. Suarez hits the sidenetting after good work from the Argentine.
City were dominating, says Stu Brennan
Well, we always thought we might be reporting that Barca had scored first, but we didn’t expect to be saying it was against the run of play.And when it came, there was a large dollop of bad luck as Fernandinho slipped. Otamendi looked like he might have reacted quicker, but it is doubtful anyone would have stopped Messi from that point.City just need to re-group and go again, as they were causing plenty of problems.
James Robson's view of the goal
That was a bizarre sequence. City seemed to have dealt with the danger on a couple of occasions. Firstly when Kolarov slid in, only Messi to get a fortunate bounce, and then when Fernandinho looked set to clear before slipping.Ronald Koeman said at the weekend that if you give Barca four chances they will score one.I make that one chance tonight - one goal.
17 mins: 1-0
City have looked comfortable until then. Messi came forward, played a one-two, and Fernandinho’s slip meant he Messi was able to get on the end of it and score.
17 mins: Barcelona 1-0 City: Messi
Messi scores. Fatal slip from Fernandinho in the box.
12 mins: Very good start
A bright start from City. No sense of them freezing here - but also look susceptible to the quick break from Barca.There have been a couple occasions when Neymar or Suarez have looked to set to break, but for a loose touch here or there.
8 mins: Barca sub
Jordi Alba OFF - Lucas Digne ON
7 mins: De Bruyne up top
It’s definitely De Bruyne, not Nolito, in the False 9 role.
6 mins: City looking good
City seeing plenty of the ball themselves. Sterling looks bright, Silva always wants the ball. Looks good - better than their last two visits here.
3 mins: Barca possession
As expected, Barcelona are seeing a lot of the ball. They always do.
Daunting atmosphere
Camp Nou.
Aguero
True.
You also wonder whether Sergio Aguero’s words when on international duty might have a bearing on Pep’s actions.
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