Manchester City 0-2 Barcelona: City weather the storm before Demichelis tackle changes the tie
The starting line-ups
Goals from Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves gave Barcelona a significant lead going into the second leg.
Manuel Pellegrini unsurprisingly switched to a 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-1-1 formation, but surprisingly named two left-backs in tandem, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov. Fernandinho was fit to return in midfield, while Martin Demichelis played at the back.
Tata Martino was cautious with his team selection, playing Andres Iniesta on the left of a front three, with Cesc Fabregas in midfield.
Barcelona enjoyed unprecedented spells of possession for an away side at the Etihad, but failed to convert their dominance into clear-cut chances in the first half – before Demichelis' rash tackle at the start of the second half changed the tie.
Pattern
This was a standard 4-2-3-1 against 4-3-3 battle, with Barcelona dominating possession and making City's shape more 4-4-1-1 for long periods.
Barcelona dominated more than Pellegrini would have anticipated – it's simply not in his mindsest to allow the opposition such freedom on the ball. Nevertheless, City actually coped well with the sustained pressure in a purely defensive sense, although they didn't counter-attack much, because they're not accustomed to playing in this manner.
Barcelona possession
Martino's decision to field an extra midfielder was noticeable from the outset, as Barcelona were amazingly dominant in terms of possession. Their superiority started in defence with Sergio Busquets dropping back to create a 3 v 2 around Alvaro Negredo and David Silva, then shuttling forward into midfield to create an overload there too, and basically making sure Barcelona were always playing triangles around City.
Higher up, Fabregas remained in midfield and Andres Iniesta drifted inside to become an extra midfielder. The game's two most common pass combinations were Iniesta and Fabregas playing the ball to reach other. Furthermore, the full-backs remained in deep positions, and offered a passing option rather than a penetrative option breaking in behind. Barcelona always had options on the ball.
City's defensive approach
City were successful with their aggressive defensive plan against Chelsea on Saturday, the back four charging forward quickly to prevent Chelsea's attackers turning. Here, they were defending much deeper against a possession-based side rather than a counter-attacking side, but there was a similar approach.
Gael Clichy tracked Alexis Sanchez closely and Pablo Zabaleta followed Iniesta but passed him inside to Vincent Kompany when the playmaker moved narrow. Whenever the ball was played into Barcelona's three forwards, Manchester City pounced quickly.
The key battle, though, was Demichelis – generally seen as City's weak link – against his compatriot Lionel Messi. Throughout the first half, Demichelis actually performed very well: he was proactive, he read the game nicely and he intercepted balls played into Messi's feet. His distribution was a cause for concern, as his wayward passes invited more Barcelona pressure, but
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