The Sky Blues’ sent a warning shot to their European rivals by dismantling Spanish giant’s Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Manchester City forward Kevin De Bruyne has told The Sun that Tuesday night’s sensational 3-1 Champions League victory over Barcelona has sent a clear message of intent to the rest of Europe.
Pep Guardiola’s men fell behind due to a slick-first half counter attack which was swept home by the irrepressible Lionel Messi, however the Sky Blues showed that they had learned valuable lessons from their 4-0 drubbing at the Nou Camp just two weeks ago by refusing to wilt, and they clawed their way back into the game courtesy of Ilkay Gundogan’s deserved equaliser just before half-time.
Gundogan’s strike imbued City with the belief that they could topple Luis Enrique’s depleted Spanish giants, and a second-half masterclass ensured that Guardiola’s side claimed their most-impressive Champions League scalp to date, subjecting Barcelona to a 3-1 defeat courtesy of a sumptuous free-kick from De Bruyne and a late second from Gundogan.
The momentous result was no less than City deserved on a night where they laid their credentials bare for the rest of Europe to see, and De Bruyne believes that the Citizens’ virtuoso performance demonstrated what they are truly capable of on the European stage.
Speaking to The Sun, the Belgian international said:
“It’s difficult to tell (if it was City’s best European performance). I have only played a couple in Europe with City.
“Obviously it was a good one. The first half hour was a bit nervous but after that we found the key to put them under pressure.
“I think from the moment we scored 1-1 we did really well. They didn’t create a lot of chances any more and I think in the end we fully deserved to win.
“We were putting them under pressure. I don’t think they knew how to break us in the second half and we could have scored more goals.
“Barca is a very good team but I think we did really well and showed what we have got.”
The result saw Manchester City recover from a faltering start to their Champions League campaign by putting a four point gap between themselves and third-placed Group C rivals Borussia Monchengladbach, who they will face at Borussia-Park on November 23rd.
A victory in Germany would be enough to seal City’s passage to the last 32 of the competition, and if the Citizens can continue to perform in the manner that they did on Tuesday night, then few sides in Europe will relish the prospect of being drawn against them in the knockout stages.
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