Barcelona 2 – 1 MAN CITY – PLAYER RATINGS
13 Mar
Hart - It was always likely he would be forced into a series of saves as the game wore on and we became more fatigued, but he dealt with Barcelona’s endeavours impressively. Displayed his shot-stopping ability repeatedly and although a couple of his early kicks were ill-directed, he is now back to somewhere close to his best - 8
Zabaleta - On a booking, a player as experienced as he is should not have received a second yellow card that easily. It was a moment of excessive anger in what was otherwise a relatively controlled display. Wasted one of our best chances on a rare foray forward, but found himself forced to deal with the majestic Iniesta for lengthy spells - 6
Kompany - He really is an imperious class above. Everything about his performance was near-perfection: the intensity with which he defended, his solid tackling, leadership and command of City’s rearguard. Popped up with a goal and for his efforts, he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. Find him a top-class partner and we’ll soar - 8.5
Lescott – Culpable for the first goal and fortunate not to concede a penalty in the opening exchanges but otherwise coped very well against the speed and movement of Barcelona’s attacking play. At times, his defending was chaotic and last-ditch but he is more than competent at what he does. In terms of the future, he has too many limitations and he’ll leave in the summer but he is what he is: a solid enough defender doing a solid enough job - 7
Kolarov - Struggled to get forward as often as he would have liked but when he was able to receive the ball in threatening positions, he produced a couple of trademark crosses. Slipped once to allow Neymar in but was generally fine at the back, ably supported by Milner - 6
Y. Touré - Wasted one surge in the first half with a heavy touch and subsequent loose pass and we didn’t see too much of him as an attacking force. With the home side so adept at moving the ball quickly, taking as few touches as possible, Yaya found it hard to control the central proceedings - 6
Fernandinho - He hadn’t been fully fit for the first leg but still produced an energetic display. Last night, he was one level above, covering mountains both in defence and in attempting to break forward. An early booking didn’t diminish his biting presence as he competed willingly - 7
Milner – As predicted, he was deployed in his containing winger role and this was another classic Milner showing. Tracked back eagerly, largely nullifying the threat of Alves on the right, yet still offered a considerable presence when City had possession. Found himself in a few promising positions but just lacked that element of composure at key moments - 8
Nasri - Sloppy in possession early on but recovered after that in a decent, but not standout, display. Saw his shot saved in the first half by Valdes but struggled to fashion out many other opportunities - 6
Silva – A tireless effort, fizzing around as he searched for space in which to weave his creative magic. Dropped deep at times to offer another body in midfield but managed to orchestrate a couple of attacks as we increased the pressure on our hosts. Shooting has always been his weak point and it was once more last night, blazing over from a tempting position - 7
Aguero - Didn’t receive any service while he was on the pitch. Apparently struggling with an injury from the first few minutes onwards, but it made no sense for our centre-backs to lump balls forward in the air for Aguero to compete with Piqué - 5
Subs
Dzeko – The ever-enigmatic Bosnian displayed his positive attributes at the Nou Camp. His recent form has been patchy, to say the least, but there was a marked improvement when he was introduced, his ability to bring the ball down on his chest and bring others into play much needed. His powerful header was saved superbly and he should have been awarded a penalty when he twisted Piqué. That he can’t produce this level of showing on a more consistent basis is infuriating - 7
Negredo - Sprayed a few pleasant passes out to the wing but no opportunities in front goal - 6
Navas – The odd fleeting run but our hopes had evaporated by the time he stepped off the bench - 6
They played well, the ref had a very poor game he seemed to want to get involved every chance he got,we had 4 or 5 very decent chances to score & couldn’t manage it, nerves maybe??? the final ball into the box particularly in the first half was very poor, Sergio’s not at the races he looked fed up last night which I found strange granted he didn’t receive the ball much, I didn’t see him busting a gut to demand it, neymars showing was very poor, goes down easier than a Russian lapdancer, the foul count was ridiculous against us- how would them boys like stoke away?? Barca are as honest as charlie haugheys accountant, zaba was poor for the red, he missed a great chance & took it out on the ref, lescott plays like he’s wearing Rollerblades, how can you be a footballer & get paid 90 grand a week & not like the ball at your feet?? Bizarre, let’s see what were made of now when we play hull & Everton, a team like us should be winning six-eight trophy’s, half way there boys… Will you make it?? My man of the match is Lionel lescott.
I like Lescott, but your grade of a “7″ for him is ludicrous.
Lescott was the worst player on the pitch last night u seem to forget the fact he let messi in to hit the post then the error for the goal and the penalty that should have been this is lescott poor on the ball and clumsy at defending
Overall I was pleased with our attitude and performance. We didn’t learn anything we didn’t already know; Lescott is a sound defender but no footballer, Kun and Alvaro are not fully fit, Edin can play a bit when he gets his head right, and the whole package has to work like clockwork for 90 + mins to beat a side as skilled and as well established as Barca, especially at Camp Nou. Take nothing away though, we are there and we compete now, a sea change from 2008.
For those who do not follow the junior sides and the comings and goings there, it should be noted that the push to recruit real quality world wide and invest heavily in these youngsters has taken a big step forward in recent times. Since last summer there have been a half dozen really impressive signings, at one time or another fighting off competition from all of the established big boys in the competition to hoover up talent world wide. So, sure we need to go back to the market place to strengthen in the summer, but the future looks to be a different matter.
For the immedite (2014/15) future, at least one top CH is top priority, plus a quality striker to replace the outgoing Dzeko, another quality DMF to replace Rodwell, who I reluctantly now accept will not make it as a MCFC PL player. Sad, but a combination of health issues (mostly) and the simple fact that his ship has sailed means that both he and the club need to move on. Then there’s Micah – well we all wanted that to work out and it hasn’t. He peaked, fell back and never got back anywhere near his best and probably never will. The injury prone lad needs to leave for pastures new and a top quality replacement found.
Hopefully Karim Rekik, Marcos Lopes and Emyr Huws will be the first for a while to come out of the EDS and challenge for places. One or two recent signings in the 19/20 age area look as though they might be challenging before too long too, and in around 5 years or so I expect to see a real change in the perception of City as the Academy gains in effectiveness and reputation.
Alph
Rather generous marks I feel in a game that could easily have seen us two or three down before we created anything.
Sad end to what was a promising season but Im afraid the failure to strengthen in January is now having its effect and I can only hope that we can pick up enough points to finish in the top four and look forward to next season