Champions League | Barcelona 4-0 Manchester City | Player Ratings
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Pep Guardiola's Camp Nou visit turned into a tough schooling in football for his new disciples from the older ones as Barcelona won 4-0 in the much-awaited clash against Manchester City. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and Neymar added a fourth. Here is how the players fared in the game.
Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen : 7/10
Didn't have too much to do for large parts of the game but made a couple of great saves – the first off Gundogan and then off de Bruyne. With Bravo's antics on the other side of the pitch, Barcelona won't be regretting selling the Chilean to City.
Samuel Umtiti : 7/10
Didn't have too much to do defensively and struck up a partnership with Mathieu immediately until he was sent off.
Gerard Pique : 6/10
Started the game well, passing the ball around crisply. A late David Silva challenge ended his night prematurely as he was taken off for Mathieu before the half-time whistle.
Javier Mascherano : 6/10
Even though the other Argentine in the team played in an unfamiliar right back position, he played his part perfectly snuffing out the few attacks that City could muster.
Jordi Alba : N/A
The risk that didn't pay off. Had to go off due to a
Sergio Busquets : 6/10
Did what he is paid to do. Rotated the ball around to keep Barcelona ticking. Pep needs him at City if he wants to win the Champions League.
Ivan Rakitic : 6/10
Had a decent game in midfield. Played second fiddle to Iniesta throughout the game and worked really hard to win the ball back very early every time. A solid performance by the Croatian.
Andres Iniesta : 7/10
Started the game brightly but after the first goal took his foot off the gas as MSN took over. Was substituted with 10 minutes to go as he made way for Andre Gomes.
Neymar : 5/10
Was virtually invisible for most parts of the
Luis Suarez : 7/10
Had a quiet night considering his high standards. Did put in his usual work rate. A decent performance.
Lionel Messi : 9/10
What can you say about the little magician? Messi was Messi. Three different type of goals. Was lucky to get the first one but the other two were pure magic. Won the
Substitutes
Lucas Digne : 5/10
Came on for the injured Alba after just 10 minutes. Can count himself lucky that a penalty wasn't awarded against Barcelona when he handled the ball inside the 18-yard-box.
Jeremy Mathieu : 2/10
Came into the game for the injured Pique. He had one job to do. But then he went and picked up two yellow cards in the space of two minutes to level the scales a bit for City.
Andre Gomes : N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
Manchester City
Claudio Bravo : 2/10
Unless you believe that conspiracy theory that Bravo was Barca's 12th man today, what he did just
Pablo Zabaleta : 5/10
Stopped Neymar from having any impact on the game in the first half but messed with the tackle that preceded the Messi goal. Had to go off after a nasty injury.
Nicolas Otamendi : 3/10
Would be disappointed with his performance. Left Messi alone for the first goal. Was horribly out of position for the second goal. Does not commit to a tackle on Neymar leading to the fourth goal.
John Stones : 3/10
Like his defensive partner, he was outclassed far too often by the Barca forward line. Had City's best chance to get a goal when he missed a free header from under 10 yards. He also stood watching the backpass that led to the third goal (on top, he did not cut Messi's
Aleksandar Kolarov : 4/10
Did well to contain Messi in the first half – the Argentine had to move to the centre to get more space. But, he did not close Messi in the second goal. He also conceded the penalty with a very late challenge on the maestro. Thankfully, Neymar scuffed it for him.
Fernandinho : 5/10
Looked lost in a flurry blue and red around him. Did well in the first half but was constantly outnumbered in midfield. Was unfortunate to slip during the first goal, but often failed in marking Messi's runs towards the box.
Ilkay Gundogan : 5/10
Looked lively in the first half when he went past two City defenders to test Ter Stegen. As the game progressed he faded away with Barcelona dominating the ball. Questionable back-pass that led to the third goal.
David Silva : 4/10
By his lofty standards, he had a very ineffective game. He seemed to have a mental block while playing against Barcelona.
Raheem Sterling : 6/10
Started the game well but ran out of steam pretty quickly. Was unlucky not be awarded a penalty when Digne handled the ball off his cross though he was guilty of trying to singlehandedly run at the opposition on a few occasions.
Nolito : 5/10
Tried his best in his first match back in Spain since his transfer too City. His work-rate was excellent but became invisible in the important moments of the match.
Kevin de Bruyne : 4.5/10
Played as a false-9 again as Aguero was left on the bench. Did a lot of running but to no effect. Found himself free and took a shot from a tight angle but found Ter Stegen up for the challenge.
Substitutes:
Wilfredo Caballero : 7/10
He came on for Bravo when the latter was sent off. Saved a penalty but could do nothing about the three goals.
Gael Clichy : 5/10
Brought on to replace Zabaleta, he never really settled as Neymar and Messi tore him to shreds.
Sergio Aguero : N/A
Not enough time to make a difference.
