Barcelona suffered a second-half collapse against Manchester City as they fell to a 3-1 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba remained absent for Barca, opening the door for Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne to really prove their worth on the biggest stage, but the former rrsked conceding an early penalty, putting out a leg in his own box and appearing to catch Sterling.
Sterling proceeded to bowl over Umtiti’s outstretched foot but instead saw yellow for simulation, although replays showed the Frenchman to have made contact with the former Liverpool attacker.
Nonetheless, Barca took the lead via a superb counterattack as they scored from a City corner. Neymar charged down the left and squared for Lionel Messi, who took a touch before finding Caballero’s bottom-right corner.
Neymar was then one-on-one with John Stones in the City box and ended up firing the ball towards Caballero’s top-right corner, which the goalkeeper had to tip around his near post.
That marked a swing in the game’s momentum as City came alive at just the right back, pinning back Barca for a moment as Sergi Roberto played a dreadful square ball across the back, which Sergio Aguero intercepts for Sterling, whose touch past Ter Stegen was finished off by Ilkay Gundogan.
Another Sergi howler saw him run straight into trouble, but Aguero’s angled finish rolled inches wide of Ter Stegen’s far post!
The converted right-back remarkably played another suicidal pass to Busquets, which was snuffed out by City as Sterling pulled to the right, but the attacker could only send his shot into the side-netting.
Just six minutes into the restart, David Silva was felled from behind by Busquets just outside Barca's D. Up stepped Kevin De Bruyne, who smashed the free kick into Ter Stegen’s top-left corner, the goalkeeper seemingly impaired by City’s creative decision to pile up Barca’s wall.
Moments after Nicolas Otamendi missed the ball by a matter of inches at the far post, he suffered the same fate moments later, amidst Aguero complaining to the referee after he appeared to have been hauled down by Javier Mascherano in the penalty area.
Sergi’s night, meanwhile, went from bad to worse as he was horribly caught out again down the left, but Kolarov’s drilled ball across goal was crucially intercepted by Umtiti before De Bruyne could turn it in.
However, a possible turning point came when John Stones regained possession high up the pitch but opted to pass the ball back, which was sniffed out by Luis Suarez, who nutmegged Otamendi and squared for Andre Gomes to shoot, yet the Portuguese’s shot crashed against the bar.
Still, it would’ve been unfair of Barca to take even a point back with them as City were completely dominant after the break, with the Catalans’ defence and midfield simply not up to it and MSN playing separately from their teammates.
Indeed, substitute Jesus Navas sprung off Digne down the right and got to the byline, before the ball was eventually cut back for Gundogan’s second via a possible Aguero handball.
The result marked Pep Guardiola’s first-ever win against Barca, while preventing his former club from progressing to the last 16.
Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona
Gundogan 39, 74, De Bruyne 51 (MC) Messi 21 (B)
Manchester City: Caballero; Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov; Fernandinho (Fernando 60), Gundogan; Silva, Sterling (Navas 71), De Bruyne (Nolito 89); Aguero
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Sergi, Mascherano, Umtiti, Digne; Rakitic (Arda 61), Busquets, Gomes (Rafinha 76); Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Referee: Kassai (HUN)
