Man City vs Barcalona Player Ratings And Performance Summaries

The match between the two at the Etihad ended in a 0-2 victory for Barcelona meaning Man City head to the Camp Nou for the second leg with an impossible task.

Major Events

53′ Demichelis (Sent Off)

53′ Messi (Penalty)

90′ Alves (Goal)

Barcelona

Valdes – 7 (The Spanish goalkeeper did make a couple of good saves however he did not have too much to do.)

Alves- 8 (Was a great attacking display from him as he constantly got past his man and he fully deserved his goal late in the second half.)

Mascherano – 6 (Apart from a cheap yellow card he received the defender did not have much to do)

Pique – 7 (Similar to his defensive partner except he did not give away silly free kicks. He marshaled the back line well.)

Alba – 6 (A lack of attacking threat from him however he held his flank firm defensively.)

Busquets -6 (Closed people down really well to keep up the pressure on City and acted as the anchor midfielder for Barca.)

Xavi – 7 (Another good game from the midfield maestro as he kept the ball moving incisively for his team however he did have a good chance to score which he skied.)

Fabregas – 7 (A good game from the midfielder. His link up play with Iniesta was great and he was cleverly able to interchange positions with his midfield partners seamlessly.)

Sanchez – 6 SUBBED OFF (Not a great attacking display from the Chilean as he was fairly quiet the whole game for his side.)

Neynar Jr.  N/A (Not long enough to judge) SUBBED ON (Failed to make any real impact on the game.)

Messi – 8 (Hugely influential as he cleverly and confidently tucked away his penalty kick and he dropped deep when he needed to. However he was kept fairly quiet by his standards due to some excellent defending by Kompany)

Iniesta – 6 (Not his most memorable game as the Spanish midfielder remained fairly quiet however did play his part in the tika-tika game well as he kept his passing near and tidy.)

Manchester City

Hart 5 – (Okay game and he really couldn’t do much about the first goal however perhaps he could have stood his line so Alves did not have the opportunity to put the ball through his legs)

Clichy – 6 (Good defensive display however nothing spectacular in attack. Good game defensively for him)

Demichelis – 3 SENT OFF (Gave possession away far too cheaply and got sent off for a bad but obligatory tackle on Messi as the Argentine was clear on goal.)

Kompany – 7 (I really felt for the City captain as he put in a great defensive display and really lead through example!)

Zabaleta – 6 (Had a decent defensive display and his work rate in closing men down was great however there was very little attacking imputus from the Argentine today.)

Kolarov – 5 SUBBED OFF (Was put in as a defensive anchor in midfield to add an extra body and he did that job okay however had to be taken off due to Demichelis’s sending off.)

Lescott – 5 SUBBED ON  (Gave away a cheap corner and thats the only noteworthy addition he made to the game. Was just an extra body in defense and he let Kompany do all the hard work)

Fernandinho – 6 (Looks comfortable on the ball and was very energetic as he closed down players well and won City possession)

Toure – 5 (Was outperformed by his midfield partner. The midfielder made little impact to the game and it looked like he had too much ‘respect’ for his opposition.)

Nava s- 5 SUBBED OFF ( Was used as an out ball by City and he did stretch play however he provided very little in the final third apart froma great cross to Negredo)

Nasri – 5 SUBBED ON (A forced substitution and he did show a few pieces of flair however no end penetrative product)

Silva – 6 (A good game from the Spanish maestro as he looked the only City player who could unlock the Barca defense.)

Negredo – 5 SUBBED OFF 66′ (Okay game from the former Sevilla Centre Forward and he did hold the ball well on occasions for his teams. He did not have many opportunities though to really impose himself . )

Dzeko – 5 SUBBED ON  (He did not really do much in his time on the pitch and was like Negredo only a physical presence upfront.)

My Man Of The Match was Dani Alves but who was yours?