Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson

Perhaps the most dispiriting part for Manchester City came from that unmistakable feeling that, if anything, the gulf has widened. They have suffered plenty of times in this competition but has there ever been a time when the imbalance of talent has felt so extreme and they have been so grateful to be spared an even more harrowing ordeal?

Barcelona did not just out play them, they emphatically put them in their place during that opening 45 minutes when Luis Suárez scored twice, Dani Alves struck the crossbar, Lionel Messi nutmegged David Silva and Manuel Pellegrini’s team stumbled to the interval like a side in need of smelling salts rather than half-time oranges.

Sergio Agüero’s goal midway through the second half does change the complexion slightly before the sides renew acquaintances in this Champions League last 16 fixture on 18 March but City’s momentum was quickly lost after Gaël Clichy’s second yellow card and the return leg would have felt like a formality had Messi put away that penalty in the third minute of stoppage time.

11-v-11, Barça had frequently toyed with City; 11-against-10, the game had descended into damage-limitation mode for City by the time Pablo Zabaleta’s trip on Messi left the four-times Ballon d’Or winner with the chance to give the score a more accurate reflection. Joe Hart kept out the shot and Barça’s tormentor-in-chief headed the rebound wide of an exposed goal.

Yet it was not easy, on the balance of play, to be convinced by Pellegrini and his defeated players that the reprieve might somehow be a defining moment over the two legs. It will need the most exhilarating performance City have put together since the money started to pour in and the overwhelming evidence is that it looks wholly beyond them.

Pellegrini’s decision to operate with both Edin Dzeko and Agüero in attack certainly looks misjudged bearing in mind that the first way to stop Barcelona is usually to try to crowd midfield and restrict space. Yet it would be wrong to lump all the blame on the manager’s tactics. Once again, some of his more accomplished footballers appeared to be afflicted by an inferiority complex.

It has become the recurring theme of their Champions League story and the harsh reality after four seasons at this level is that their owners could probably be forgiven for expecting more. Pellegrini’s take on the first half was that his team couldn’t put three passes together. Samir Nasri was removed just after the hour and few of his colleagues distinguished themselves.

What happened here was all the more demoralising given that this is not even the greatest Barcelona team we have seen. Luis Enrique’s side shimmered with menace. Messi’s flashes of brilliance seemed designed to remind City of what constitutes true greatness. Suárez took his goals with great expertise and, though it always feels slightly strange seeing Barcelona having this much fun without Xavi Hernández, there was another reminder of Andrés Iniesta’s enduring class and Ivan Rakitic’s considerable gifts.

When the opposition is this refined, the only way to survive is to play with the highest levels of concentrations and try to eliminate mistakes. Unfortunately for City, it quickly became apparent that they were vulnerable. Vincent Kompany’s part in Suárez’s first goal was another sign of his regression.

The Manchester City captain had made the crowd hold its breath, with a skewed clearance that threatened an own goal, after barely a minute. Shortly afterwards, Fernando’s lapse allowed Suárez to run free. The striker could not take advantage but it was the carelessness that preceded it that must have alarmed Pellegrini.

For long, awkward spells, City looked out of their depth. Dani Alves and Jordi Alba attacked like whippets from the full-back positions. Neymar had the beating of Zabaleta and, Suárez being Suárez, everyone just knew how determined he was to leave his fingerprints all over the occasion.

For City, Yaya Touré was badly missed but it would be stretching the truth to presume his absence greatly influenced the outcome. City’s shortcomings ran through the entire team and Messi looked absolutely determined to expose them, slaloming between players, dancing past challenges and illuminating the pitch to the point that even the home supporters started to applaud him.

That little nutmeg on Silva early on felt like a man marking out his territory. It said one thing: you might be good, but we are considerably better. All that was missing was a pat of Silva’s head as he glided by.

Did City panic? They certainly froze. After 16 minutes, Messi had three players around him but not one of them closing him down. He clipped in a cross and Kompany went to head it away under pressure from Suárez. The ball fell between them and Suárez finished with a brilliant left-foot shot into the far corner.

By half-time, it was almost a surprise that the away side had restricted themselves to only one more goal. Messi, again, was prominently involved, darting past Fernando and then Zabaleta. Alba crossed from the left and Suárez had anticipated where the ball was heading, dashing into the six-yard area to get in front of Martín Demichelis and nudge his shot past Hart.

Perhaps a little bit of complacency crept in from Barcelona after the interval but, to give City their due, they did at least remind themselves they were meant to be the home side. Dzeko had a good chance three minutes into the second half and when they did score in the 69th minute it emanated from Messi, of all people, being slow to react and Clichy taking the ball off his toe. Silva’s flick, from Fernando’s pass, was beautifully weighted and Agüero swept his shot past Marc-André ter Stegen.

Briefly, there was the sense City might fancy an extraordinary feat of escapology. Instead, Clichy was silly to rush into a clumsy challenge on Alves, having already been booked, and the 10 men were ultimately grateful that Messi, with four misses from his last seven penalties, reminded us he is human, after all.