Last Night, Barcelona continued their Champions league dominance over Manchester City securing an all-important 2-1 away victory at the Etihad. For Luis Suarez, it was a perfect time to grab the headlines with a brace on his return to England after leaving Liverpool for some £75million.
From the match frenzy atmosphere in Etihad, some five post-match talking point:
BARCA BOSSED MIDFIELD; TOURE MISSED
Yaya Toure missed playing his former side, Barcelona, due to a red card he picked in his side's defeat to CSKA Moscow during the group stages of the champions league. A card he will definitely rue allow happen. His absence though was glaring as city’s midfield run out of sorts. That area of the field was bereft of the kind of steel Yaya toure provides plus his surging runs upfront. This allowed Messi pull the strings from a deeper position. Of course City have lost in games that Yaya toure featured but that doesn't compare to how many they have lost without him playing. Per statistics, His absence was notable during his international duty with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament his team went on to win, City won just one of the six matches they played. Ironically, they thrashed Newcastle 5-0 upon his return last weekend.
Below is City’s 2014/2015 season with and without Yaya Toure
City with Toure: P27 W17 D4 L6
City without Toure: P11 W3 D5 L3
Anyways Toure served the last game of a three-match and will be up for selection for the 2nd Leg bare any injury.
CAPTAIN’S NIGHTMARE
City had their own bad moments of the field of play but Chief culprit on the log was Captain Vincent Kompany. Well, he was supposed to spur of the leadership on the field especially with his back four back was far from that role, pressing on any attacker possibly. An instance was when he rushed out of the back line to close down Ivan Rakitic and was got ball watching as the ball was flicked on to Messi, leading to a goal. For Kompany, Suarez was super difficult to tame.
SUAREZ FAMILIAR WITH JOE HART
Last I checked, familiarity breeds content, not for Luis Suarez though. Last night truly was that great moment for Luis Suarez, some still insist he should have completed a hat trick with the penalty kick Messi missed. Goalkeeper Hart is a familiar face for Suarez to put the ball past. Remember Suarez and Hart at the 2014 World Cup? -England versus Uruguay. Plus last night’s two goals, the former Liverpool striker has netted 4 goals in his last 2 games against Joe Hart- 2 in Champions League and 2 for Uruguay vs England at the world cup in Brazil.
But for Joe hart, Suarez will have completed a hat trick as he kept his legs closer least he got nut-megged Joe Hart after the match shared his thoughts on his Nemesis, "Luis Suarez is a fantastic player, he took his goal well."
MESSI BROUGHT BACK TO PLANET EARTH BY HART
In the build up to the game, Samir Nasri remarked Lionel Messi as a player who competes on another galaxy. That truly was manifest as Messi enjoyed a field day, dribbling, teasing and taming the defence of city. It all went to plan for Messi but for the penalty kick saved by Joe Hart in the dying minutes of the game. Messi stepped up to play as usual, hits a low penalty saved by Joe Hart to his left. The ball got parried straight back to Messi who, with an open goal gaping, sent a diving header wide. Simple conclusion is he is Human. Maybe someone should display Messi’s spot kick stats to him. He has missed 5 of the last 10 penalties he has taken (Argentina and Barcelona)
BRAZILIAN DUO FIND WAYS OF HITTING THE NEWS
Neymar was embroiled in a row with a Manchester City fan after game. He confronted the young man who appeared to make a diving gesture at the Brazilian in a video that has surfaced online. However, stewards were on hand to separate the duo following a brief verbal exchange immediately after the full-time whistle at the Etihad.
For Alves, he decided to show his frustration of being substituted by Coach Enrique by kick booting a water bottle furiously.
The return leg happens in Nou Camp, For Manchester City, their glitter of hope will be built on the penalty saved by Joe Hart but for the Catalans, they will continue to play in a way that reflects they missed out on any silver ware last season.
Source: DSG
