Luis Suarez stung old rivals Manchester City on his return to England with new club Barcelona.
The former Liverpool star scored a first-half brace to dent City's hope keeping a clean sheet and avoiding the dreaded away goals. Despite a Sergio Aguero goal for the home side the Premier League champions now need a near miracle if they are to qualify for the next round of the Champions League.
The build-up to the game was centred more around City's determination not to flounder where they have previously in the worlds biggest club competition. Having never progressed further than the round of 16, Manuel Pellegrini's men were adamant they could be a force in Europe.
It seemed that perhaps this game really could go their way. Despite having star midfielder Yaya Toure unavailable for the vital group games that would see them progress to the knockouts, City held their own and got over the hurdle in proud fashion. They had also just dismantled Newcastle United 5-0 at home over the weekend and had new signing Wilfried Bony relishing the chance to make his name in the Champions League.
Adding fuel to the fire was the disparity within opponents Barcelona's camp. A 1-0 loss at home to Malaga in their last league game had added mounting pressure to manager Luis Enrique who is yet to really make a mark at the club in his current role and isn't winning over the fans with his direct style of play instead of the more preferred tiki-taka approach that the Catalan club are famed for.
Suarez has also attracted critics for his lack of goal-getting since his big money move to the Nou Camp during the summer but has been praised for his creativeness and assists to team mates Messi and Neymar.
Pellegrini made his intentions clear from the get-go with a somewhat surprising 4-4-2 formation rather than a more cautious approach. The point can be made that with Toure suspended and their devastating win over the magpies the Chilean was looking keep the winning momentum going by not shuffling the pack, it was a decision he is now more than likely regretting.
With City's attacking exploits leaving the defence exposed it took Barcelona just quarter of an hour to beat the strong hold and set the marker for the rest of the game. Suarez doubled both his and Barca's lead by the half hour mark which in truth was no surprise to anyone given how easy it was for the away side to control the game.
Barcelona were at their brilliant attacking best and City quite simply had no answer. Although their performance improved in the second half which resulted in Aguero's goal they always looked second best throughout the game. This was typified when Gael Clichy was sent off for a second yellow card leaving a desperate City holding their heads and practically begging for the final whistle to blow. On top of this Lionel Messi was awarded a late penalty after being brought down by fellow countryman Pablo Zabaleta. The home side's fans waited almost despairingly rather than with crossed fingers as the Argentina star stepped up to score the goal that would have ended all hope of the citizens progression in the second-leg. However, keeper Joe Hart saved the spot-kick and the number 10 hopelessly headed wide from the rebound.
Was it a true life-line or did it just delay the inevitable? Perhaps it provides City with the glimmer of hope they need to at least stand a chance away from home. Stranger things have happened, just ask Fernando Torres and Chelsea.
Source: DSG
