Manchester City were let off the hook last night at the Etihad stadium when Leo Messi missed a golden opportunity to put the second leg out of the sky blues’ reach.
Barcelona completed dominated the game in the first half with City stunned by a brace from none other than Luis Suárez. Messi produced some magical skills last night but failed to put the game to bed and thus hand Pellegrini’s men a much needed lifeline.
Suárez struck first in the 16th minute when the ball rebounded and fell sweetly for the Uruguayan in the box. Just before the break, Suárez struck again to make it 2 goals to nil.
It wasn’t until the 68th minute that Sergio Agüero put City back in the match after a great combo with Spaniard David Silva, and closed the gap.
Without Yaya Touré, Manchester City became just another team to face Barça and they lacked spark to really bother the Catalans.Piqué y Mascherano played some great defensive football and cut out City’s attacks.Only a cheeky back heel from Silva to put Agüero through to equalise was their only fault.
With 17 minutes of time still to play, Clichy was sent off for a second yellow card. With Pellegrini’s men down to ten men, Barça had the run of the pitch and City were left wondering what was going to happen next. In extra time, Zabaleta brought down Messi in the box for a penalty. Leo stepped up and Joe Hart saved it. However, the ball came back out to the Argentine who failed to put the ball into the back of an open net, much to the dismay of the Barça fans stood behind the goal.
Messi left the field visibly annoyed with himself having wasted a golden opportunity to secure Barça’s place in the next round.
