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Manchester City tried their best to come through a seemingly impossible task against Barcelona to reach the quarter finals of the Champions League but ended up well beaten, so how did each player do on the night?
Sergio Aguero only had a handful of touches in the first half and was replaced by Edin Dzeko at half time.
It was a tale of two centre backs for Manuel Pellegrini's side as Vincent Kompany put in City's best performance on the night and was rewarded with a goal whereas Joleon Lescott will be having Messi filled nightmares for days.
The Argentine genius was superb once again but Neymar and Xavi also put in quality shifts and ensured Barcelona a place in the quarter finals.
See how each player rated below...
Show all 23 1 /23Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Victor Valdes 6 Made a good saves to deny Dzeko and Nasri but had a relatively quiet night besides those chances. Solid display all round
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Dani Alves 7 Not he’s usual out and out attacking from full-back but provided good support. Overran slightly by City’s left side at 0-0 but coped well on the whole. Came to life in final few minutes, like in the first leg, to kill off city with a composed finish
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Gerard Pique 6 Played Aguero off the park completely in the first half. Had more to do when Dzeko came on but still looked in control for the most part.
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Javier Mascherano 6 Dealt with most that came he’s way and never look rushed. Fine on the ball but was a little slow at times
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Jordi Alba 6 Useful going forward without given City too many problems and dealt well in defensive work. Played nice ball but adjudged offside for Neymar’s disallowed goal. Looked more threating after Barcelona went ahead
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Sergio Busquets 7 Kept City at bay in front for Barcelona’s back four. Didn’t produce his usual overacting after tackles which was nice to see. Passed well and kept ball expertly
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Xavi Hernandez 8 Could have opened the scoring in first half but shot straight at Hart. Passed neatly and precisely as ever in dominant display at the heart of mid field
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Cesc Fabregas 6 (Sergi, 86) Caused all sorts of problems for Lescott with poked through ball for Messi’s opener. Decent, if unspectacular, display but fine passing and ball control throughout
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Andres Iniesta 6 Injured in fair tackle by Zabaleta and looked a little jaded afterwards but passed with masterful ease and in total control throughout
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Neymar 8 (Sanchez, 80) Had goal disallowed, effort cleared off the line and shot just wide in a stylish display from the Brazilian. Produced less of the histrionics that can plague his game at times and looked effective and dangerous throughout until being replaced with ten minutes remaining
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Lionel Messi 9 Star man once again for the little genius. Had Lescott’s number all night and produce several moments for superb skill. Hit post with dazzling run and shot that fully deserved a goal. Opened the scoring soon after though and quite rightly, with a lovely chipped finish to kill off City, composed and never looked like missing
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Joe Hart 5 A couple of nervy moments and rode his luck at times but that is to be expected against such calibre of opposition. Had no chance with Messi’s superb finish for the goal and made a couple of decent saves. Concentration and positioning could be questioned for second goal
EPA
Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Pablo Zabaleta 4 Sent off after taken protests too far after City were denied what looked like a certain penalty. Long night for the full back ended early with a lot arm waving and hand gesturing at the referee. Could have scored but sliced wide on a tough night
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Joleon Lescott 5 Not the first player to have a difficult night against Messi, nor will he be the last. Lucky to get away with not conceding a penalty early on and completely bamboozled with the through ball for the goal. Made some strong tackles and interceptions to keep City in it but had a long night trying to deal with the Argentine star
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Vincent Kompany 8 Made several last ditched tackles and powerful blocks. Defended manfully throughout and fully deserved his late tapped in goal. City’s best player on the night by far
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Aleksandar Kolarov 6 Linked up with Milner and overlapped well down the left for the most part. Steady in defensive but found Neymar tough to deal with at times
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Fernandinho 5 Defended earnestly and cleared Neymar’s effort off the line with score still at 0-0. Put in a good shift but helpless to stop Barcelona’s dominance
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Yaya Toure 6 Was powerful and direct for the first half hour and look City’s best player early on but faded as game went on under the pressure from the home side
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings David Silva 5 (Negredo, 72) Found chances hard to come by but produced lovely back heeled flick to set up Nasri who should have scored. Found space before half time on edge of Barca’s box but shot high and wide when should have done better
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Samir Nasri 4 (Jesus Navas, 74) Had City’s best chance of the first half but shot straight at Valdes, should have done better. Tough night with chances and touches few and far apart
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings James Milner 6 Put in an honest and hardworking performance, as ever, but lacked the composure or real quality to harm Barcelona in the final third. Defended well and linked up effectively with Kolarov
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Sergio Aguero 2 (Dzeko, 45) Replaced at half time by Dzeko after hardly touching the ball in first half. Not really he’s fault, task set to him was not his forte, but failed to make an impact on any levels
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Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1: Player Ratings Best off the bench - Edin Dzeko 6 Did more in a minute than Aguero did in whole of first half but tame effort saved. Good chance with looping header drew a fine save from Valdes. Was brought down in the box in what looked a certain penalty but not given
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