Lets take a look at some of the talking points from Barcelona's fine performance against Manchester City
1 Ill-discipline hampers City yet again
Before the game there was genuine hope in the Manchester City camp that David Silva and Samir Nasri could capitalise on the absence of Sergio Busquets and exploit the spaces in front of the Barcelona defence, but City’s display descended into ill-discipline once Lionel Messi and Neymar began running through their party tricks. Fernandinho, Aleksandar Kolarov and Silva went into the book in the first half amid angry recriminations and Nasri was lucky not to be sent off for a desperately wild swipe at Neymar. City made a real fight of it after the break but Nasri had been hauled off by Manuel Pellegrini by then as, once again, they had lost a player due to their own stupidity.
2 Touré treads water when City needed him most
Stories emerged in the Spanish press before the game that Barcelona had been keen on signing Vincent Kompany in 2012 after City had just won their first Premier League title. The City captain’s form in recent weeks has been more Camp America than Camp Nou and he almost gifted Barcelona the opener inside the opening 10 minutes when he was caught napping by Dani Alves, who set up Neymar to strike the inside of the post. However it was Yaya Touré who contributed most to the opening goal when he let Ivan Rakitic run off him to score. The Ivorian had a couple of marauding forward runs but defensively he looked like he was treading water and his substitution said it all.
3 This Barcelona is a different beast – but just as dangerous
Andrés Iniesta said before the game that Barcelona wanted to make Manchester City suffer by controlling every aspect of the second leg and making the visitors chase the ball, and it was certainly a harrowing night for Manuel Pellegrini’s men. But this is a very different beast to the one Iniesta played in under Pep Guardiola. Whereas that team passed opposition sides to distraction, zipping the ball from side to side before honing in on an area of weakness, Luis Enrique’s modern-day version are far quicker to hit the front three. Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez peppered City’s goal from every angle and it was only the brilliance of Joe Hart that prevented a rout.
4 City’s signings have simply not been good enough
City have signed 17 players since Sergio Aguëro’s injury-time winner against QPR brought them that unforgettable first Premier League title in 2012, but of them only Fernandinho can be regarded as a success, and he cost £30m. It is obviously too early to judge Wilfried Bony but Willy Caballero, Bacary Sagna, Fernando, Eliaquim Mangala and Bruno Zuculini were brought in this summer at a combined cost of £53m and none has improved the starting XI in any way. City were hindered by a financial fair play penalty but what fresh impetus the likes of Alexis Sánchez or Diego Costa would have given this ageing team, particularly given they would have cost a similar amount to Mangala.
5 Two-footed Rakitic is a worthy heir to Xavi
Lionel Messi may have used this game to show the world that he is still the greatest player on the planet, but behind him Ivan Rakitic offered a performance almost as impressive. The Croat was signed from Sevilla this summer with the brief of replacing Xavi, and here he showed why Luis Enrique entrusted him with such a gargantuan task. Rakitic’s instant control and clever finish gave Barcelona the goal they deserved, and his energy and ability to burst from midfield and strike with either foot was a constant menace. His battle with his international team-mate Luka Modric in Sunday night’s el clásico is just one of many intriguing duels to look forward to.
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