Pep Guardiola’s side were comfortably beaten on the Spaniard’s return to his former stomping ground.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
A trip to the Nou Camp was always going to be the toughest test of Pep Guardiola’s fledgling Manchester City reign to date, and so it proved on a testing evening for City in Catalunya.
The game started quietly and it took a slip by Fernandinho to let Lionel Messi in for the opener after 17 minutes. City recovered well and had a couple of good chances to level the scores prior to the break, but Ilkay Gundogan was denied by Ter Stegen and John Stones placed a free header wide of the target.
The turning point came early in the second half when City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off. Messi added two more to complete his 37th Barcelona hat-trick, and Neymar added a fourth late on after earlier missing a penalty.
For City’s individual player ratings, see below.
Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo
Claudio Bravo – 3
The goalkeeper will not remember his first return to the Nou Camp fondly thanks to one moment of madness in the second half. A dreadful scuffed clearance followed by a handball outside the area saw Bravo given his marching orders, which effectively ended the game as a contest.
He had actually loked more at ease in his former surroundings than he has done domestically so far, as he came out smartly to deny Neymar on the half hour and demonstrated his acrobatics with a double save from Suarez at the end of the first period.
Pablo Zabaleta – 5
The Argentine’s powers are on the wane and he struggled in the Nou Camp. Dived in to too many reckless tackles in the first half and was at times wasteful in possession.
Zabaleta improved in the second half but his match ended early as he was taken off due to an injury.
Nicolas Otamendi – 5
Started the game in solid fasion, making one impeccable early challenge on Suarez, but let himself down by effectively giving up on his tracking of Messi for the first Barca goal.
His commitment is never in doubt, and he continued to throw himself into challenges in the second period, but he ended the night with his name added to the lengthy list of centre halves who will not be queueing up to face Barca again – unfortunately, he has to do just that in a fortnight.
John Stones – 5
Manchester City’s John Stones looks dejected
This was the toughest test of the England youngster’s career to date, and by and large he did not look out of place on such a grand stage. He should have opened his account for his new side but missed a glorious chance to draw City level with a header at the end of the opening 45 minutes.
Found life difficult after City were reduced to ten men, and visibly tired as the game went on – the former Everton man was caught flat footed in the build up to Messi’s third goal and let Neymar waltz past him too easily for the fourth.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 4
Kolarov struggled against Messi down City’s left in the first half and found himself too often reduced to launching long balls rather than playing the intricate style Guardiola favours.
His poor night was summed up late on when he dived in late on Messi and conceded a penalty, which was then missed by Neymar.
Manchester City’s Aleksandar Kolarov
Fernandinho – 5
His unfortunate slip let in Messi for Barca’s opener and the midfielder then picked up a booking in what was an uncharacteristically sloppy first half for the Brazilian.
His combative style was found wanting against Barcelona’s fluid midfield in the second period, with Fernandinho at times a passenger as the ball was passed effortlessly around him.
Ilkay Gundogan – 6
Showed what he is capable of with a skilful jink into the Barca box before forcing Ter Stegen into a good save in the first half, but otherwise struggled to exert his influence in the midfield battle against Iniesta and Busquets.
The second half was a similar story – Gundogan played one fine through ball to Kevin De Bruyne but was otherwise well shackled and could not exert himself on the game, particularly once City had been reduced to ten.
Raheem Sterling – 7
Looked like City’s most positive attacking outlet early on, with his pace proving a useful asset on City’s counter attacks.
Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling scored at Celtic and was promising again in the Nou Camp
It was a shame the visitors could not get the England winger more involved, as he caused problems for the hosts when he had the chance to run at the Barcelona defence. His final ball was at times disappointing, but this was another promising display in Sterling’s impressive campaign to date.
David Silva – 5
The Spaniard cut a frustrated figure in the first half – exemplified by his foul on Gerard Pique for which he was carded – but his excellent free kick should have been converted by John Stones.
Silva was then largely anonymous in the second half and struggled to make any sort of impact on proceedings, a situation that was not helped by Barca’s man advantage in the midfield.
Nolito – 5
Showed some good touches in and around the Barca area but ultimately his end product let him down in the first half.
Manchester City’s Nolito
Tried to get more involved early on in the second period and caused the occasional uncomfortable moment for the Barcelona back four, but his night came to a premature end when he was the man sacrificed after Bravo’s red card.
Kevin De Bruyne – 5
Playing out of position in a false nine role, De Bruyne was feeding off scraps for large parts of the first half and didn’t find himself with many clear openings.
Having given the ball away sloppily for Barca’s second, the Belgian forced Ter Stegen into a couple of decent saves in the second half but was not as influential as City may have hoped he would have been.
Substitutes:
Willy Caballero – 7
Powerless to prevent any of the three goals Barca added once he had entered the fray, but did well to save Neymar’s effort from the spot late on.
Manchester City’s Willy Caballero
Gael Clichy – 5
Coming on when your side is a man down in the Nou Camp is a thankless task, and the Frenchman struggled to stem the tide of Barcelona attacks as the game went on.
Sergio Aguero – N/A
Controversially left on the bench, Aguero had little time to make an impact after being brought on in the closing stages.
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