Pep Guardiola said it himself. Barcelona did not have to win this match. Manchester City did, or at least try to take something from it. But Barcelona had Lionel Messi, the one player in the world who seems capable of winning any Champions League match.
No one needs to explain anything about Messi to anyone at City after all the previous meetings and the events at the Camp Nou, and though his appearance has changed considerably since the first glimpse in this country 10 years ago prompted Richard Williams of this parish to describe him as resembling the missing fifth member of the Monkees, the potency remains the same. When Messi scored the first goal here it was hard to know what was more remarkable, the certainty that he would find the net or the knowledge that it was his seventh goal in only three Champions League games this season.
Guardiola’s regard for Messi remains undiminished, and will do after this powerful reminder that one man does not make a team. City could consider themselves fortunate that Messi was not on the end of the opportunity from which André Gomes hit the bar midway through the second half, but if the key to stopping Barcelona is keeping Messi in check, Guardiola’s side managed it. “There is no defence that can stop Messi,” Guardiola famously told his Bayern Munich players when they had to attempt the task. “You can try and make sure he receives that ball less but there is no system or coach to stop talent of that magnitude.”
Put it down to an off-day, then. For though Barcelona turned up at the Etihad with a reorganised defence in the absence of Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba, the front three were ominously as expected. This was only Messi’s third Champions League game in the present campaign, so he was on a hat-trick of hat-tricks, having scored three goals against Celtic as well as three against Manchester City. Just in case anyone failed to notice him he was captain for the night too, as Andrés Iniesta was sidelined through injury.
Actually Barcelona missed Iniesta. That reliable presence just behind the front runners, the probing passes, the usual quiet control were not on display in the opening minutes. Messi’s first touch of note was a ball into the box to pick out Luis Suárez in a threatening position, though the only other Barcelona trademark to marvel at for the first quarter was a goalkeeper playing with his feet. As this is a hot topic in Manchester at the moment, it is worth noting that Marc-André ter Stegen’s ball-playing ability is not restricted to wandering out of his area and making an occasional contribution as sweeper. Barcelona use him as an extra outfield player whether he is standing on his goalline or not. He has to field back-passes even when opponents are in close proximity and at one point dealt nervelessly with a free-kick played back to him at pace at waist height.
Sweeper-keeping in the Premier League is clearly still in its infancy. Barcelona found their feet soon enough, though they could have had few complaints if City had been awarded a penalty for Samuel Umtiti’s foul on Raheem Sterling with the game still scoreless. There was certainly enough contact for the referee’s decision to book Sterling to look harsh, and City taking the lead at that point might have further unsettled their visitors.
As it was, Barcelona claimed the first goal from a not entirely unexpected source. Messi not only scored it but helped make it, turning defence into attack when a Sergio Agüero shot had been blocked, feeding the ball out to Neymar on the left then continuing his run through the middle to beat Willy Caballero with his usual left-foot nonchalance. It is perhaps a measure of City’s improvement under Guardiola that they managed to come back from that before the interval. There were several more scares in Caballero’s goalmouth, notably when Gomes saw a shot blocked and Suárez could not quite reach Messi’s volleyed cross with a header, but the home side were able to withstand the pressure until Ilkay Gündogan’s goal put them back on terms.
If Sergi Roberto was at fault for the equaliser it was Sergio Busquets who gave away the free-kick on David Silva from which Kevin De Bruyne gave City the lead, claiming to have won the ball but guilty of bundling over the man in the process. Then came Barcelona’s best chance, Gomes crashing the ball against the bar after successive mistakes by John Stones and Nicolás Otamendi, though in all fairness City were making chances for fun at the other end and could have made the game safe before Gündogan scored his second.
Both defences were suspect, neither side was clinical in attack, there were opportunities aplenty in a game that at times was as knockabout as a Premier League match. Barcelona purists will probably regard that as an insult. City supporters can, however, quite rightly feel proud.
