A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona's Champions League win against Manchester City.
| Marc-Andre ter Stegen | 7.3 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 32 Passes: 17 Pass Accuracy: 88 % Shots Faced: 4 Saves Made: 3 Clearances: 0 Bostjan says: 7.5 The young German had a busy game in net for Barcelona. He faced four shots over the 90 minutes, but he was unable to keep a clean sheet as he was unable to stop Sergio Agüero’s second half shot. Two of the saves he made were fairly straightforward, but on both of those his positioning was excellent. The fourth shot he faced, which was chronologically actually the first, was ter Stegen’s best save of the night, diving to his left to keep out Samir Nasri’s powerful shot. | |
| Dani Alves | 6.4 |
Minutes played: 74 Touches: 75 Passes: 64 Pass Accuracy: 88 % Key Passes: 2 Fouls Won : 2 Tackles: 1 Aerial Duels Won : 0 Clearances : 0 Fouls: 2 Interceptions: 1 Bostjan says: 7.0 Putting aside an absolutely atrocious cross in the 21st minute and a yellow card just before halftime, Alves actually had a pretty good game. He thrived in attack as he was given a lot of space on the right side, causing Gael Clichy numerous problems, even forcing the Frenchman to pick up a second yellow card for a foul on him. Alves was unlucky not to put Barcelona up by three goal just before halftime, hitting the crossbar with a gorgeous chip shot. The Brazilian was subbed off after picking up a knock, even though he was far from happy about it. | |
| Gerard Pique | 8.2 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 82 Passes: 62 Pass Accuracy: 89 % Tackles: 4 Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 7 Aerial Duels Won : 4 Bostjan says: 8.5 As usual, Pique stepped up in a big game. He was all over the place in the back-line, making numerous crucial tackles and clearances in the game. One especially important play came in the 66th minute when Pique intercepted a pass from the right side while being the only man back to defend against three Manchester City attackers. Pique also made a couple sliding tackles that would’ve made resident tackling expert, Mascherano, very proud. Despite all those positives his clearances often looked rushed, panicked even, even though he on many occasions had time to check for options. | |
| Javier Mascherano | 7.1 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 68 Passes: 56 Pass Accuracy: 93 % Tackles: 4 Interceptions: 2 Clearances: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 1 Fouls: 2 Bostjan says: 7.0 Mascherano was tasked with covering the more dangerous of the two City forwards, Agüero. Compared to some other defenders Mascherano didn’t do terribly badly, but on many occasions he allowed Kun too much space, and he burned him on more than one occasion. It wasn’t all bad though as Mascherano also disposed his compatriot on several occasions. Mascherano was also credited with a crucial block on Nasri just minutes into the second half, probably saving a goal. He to defensive midfield for the final 20 minutes of the game where he looked more comfortable. | |
| Jordi Alba | 7.6 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 98 Passes: 78 Pass Accuracy: 83 % Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 4 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 4 Key Passes : 2 Aerial Duels Won : 1 Bostjan says: 7.5 Like his teammate on the other side of the defensive line, Alba too had a strong game in attack. He was constantly available on the overlap and his distribution in the danger area was excellent. He showed patience on the ball at the half hour mark when he beautifully found Suarez for the Uruguayan’s second goal of the night. And Alba should’ve picked up another assist in the second half, but Messi was unable to finish off the chance. Defensively Alba also looked very comfortable. | |
| Sergio Busquets | 7.0 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 22 Passes: 73 Pass Accuracy: 95 % Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 4 Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Clearances: 0 Aerial Duels Won: 1 Turnovers: 2 Key passes: 0 Sam says: 8.0 With so much space in the midfield, Busquets was able to pick up the ball from the defence and drive forward with it. He restarted almost all of Barça’s attacks and was able to pick off passes when he pleases. Defensively and with a striker as clinical as Sergio Agüero on the other team, Busquets had to limit City’s chances and he did this superbly with two tackles and four interceptions. | |
| Ivan Rakitić | 7.6 |
Minutes played: 70 Touches: 60 Passes: 47 Pass Accuracy: 83 % Shots/Shots on Target: 3/0 Turnovers: 0 Key Passes: 0 Successful Dribbles : 4 Tackles: 1 Sam says: 7.5 A good performance from the Croatian in his first Champions League knockout game for the Catalans. His runs allowed space for the likes of Suárez and Messi to run into and it was this kind of run that created an opening for Barça’s second goal. He was strong defensively too, restricting David Silva to a limited time on the ball. | |
| Andres Iniesta | 7.6 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 112 Passes: 98 Pass Accuracy: 94 % Shots/Shots on Target: 1 /0 Fouls Won: 0 Interceptions: 1 Tackles: 2 Key Passes: 0 Successful Dribbles : 6 Sam says: 8.5 Bizarrely, City’s tactics allowed Barcelona so much space in the first and this is exactly what you don’t give to Andrés Iniesta if you have any hope of winning. Iniesta was able to dictate play from midfield before releasing the ball to any of the three willing runners ahead of him. City grew into the game but Iniesta was able to weave his way past the likes of Fernando and continued to take control for Barça. Suárez took most of the headlines but Iniesta was a key cog in the Barça machine. | |
| Luis Suarez | 8.9 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 47 Passes: 33 Pass Accuracy: 73 % Shots/Shots on Target: 5/3 Turnovers: 2 Successful Dribbles: 0 Key Passes: 0 Fouls Won: 3 Tackles : 2 Ahmed says: 9.0 Scored an incredible, incisive and instinctive brace in the first-half and could have scored at least one or two more. Suarez gave the City defence endless nightmares in the first half with his movement, off-the-ball running, grit and determination. Outstanding. Great link-up play with his fellow attackers. He covered a lot of distance and was quiet in the second half, but will be more than pleased with his return to England. | |
| Lionel Messi | 8.6 |
Minutes played: 90 Touches: 107 Passes: 76 Pass Accuracy: 91 % Shots/Shots on Target: 4 /2 Fouls Won: 2 Successful Dribbles: 10 Key Passes: 3 Turnovers: 4 Tackles: 3 Ahmed says: 9.0 An absolutely sensational performance by Messi. The penalty miss and subsequent header is what most will remember but take nothing away from what preceded it. Manchester City couldn’t get near him. He was unplayable and unstoppable. Spellbinding at times. His movement, link-up play and vision was on another level. Played a big part in both goals and created a plethora of other chances, including the penalty. He nearly wrapped up the win with a second half goal but for a narrow offside decision. He was everywhere; attacking and defending. This is evident just by looking at the stats; indeed, he completed 10 dribbles, 3 key passes, 3 tackles. Magnificent. Blamed in some quarters for losing the ball in the build up to Sergio Aguero’s goal. Yes, he lost the ball but it really should have been better dealt with by the defence. Indeed, a simple ball bypassed the midfield and defence far too easily. | |
| Neymar | 7.1 |
Minutes played: 79 Touches: 49 Passes: 36 Pass Accuracy: 89 % Shots/Shots on Target: 1/1 Fouls Won: 3 Key Passes: 2 Successful Dribbles: 1 Turnovers: 3 Ahmed says: 7.5 Not really his night but still managed to make Pablo Zabaleta (arguably the best right-back in the EPL, no less) look very average at times with his skills, trickery and passing - The full-back wasn’t sure whether to stick to him or give him space, especially in the first half. Neymar tracked back well and his pace and vision sometimes caught City’s back four out, unfortunately from a Barcelona perspective, not often enough. He wasn’t able to exert his usual influence. Neymar had a shot cleared off the line yet he faded in the second half and was eventually replaced by Pedro in the 80th minute. | |
| Jeremy Mathieu | 6.2 |
Minutes played: 20 Touches: 16 Passes: 16 Pass Accuracy: 100 % Tackles : 0 Arron says: 7.0 Having seen his side's lead cut in half by Sergio Aguero's consolation, Luis Enrique identified that it was City who were on the ascendancy and that changes were required to stop the run, both to address the tactical concerns that the second-half was producing and perhaps more simplistically, to dampen City's momentum. Replacing Ivan Rakitic with Jeremy Mathieu made sense from a tactical standpoint, but it was also a gamble -- introducing a player from the bench into the heart of defense could have backfired spectacularly, yet to his credit, Mathieu put in an accomplished shift to help maintain the lead. | |
| Adriano Correia | 6.0 |
Minutes played: 16 Touches: 23 Passes: 20 Pass Accuracy: 85 % Shots/Shots on Target : 1/0 Arron says: 6.5 Whether Alves was injured or simply replaced, Adriano's substitution seemed to come as a shock to his compatriot -- and indeed to me from my place in the stands. Alas, Adriano looked solid and while he picked up a yellow card, his tactical foul did help stop what could have been a potential goalscoring opportunity for the hosts. | |
| Pedro | 6.5 |
Minutes played: 11 Touches: 13 Passes: 12 Pass Accuracy: 92 % Key Passes : 1 Arron says: 7.5 While Neymar struggled to gain a foothold in the match, a fresh set of legs in the shape of Pedro Rodriguez wreaked havoc on the tiring Manchester City backline, particularly after the dismissal of Gael Clichy. His energy helped turn the tide of the match back in Barca's favour after a spirited City fightback, while his combination with Messi to help win the penalty could have proved critical. | |
| The Team | 8.0 |
Passes: 712 Pass Accuracy: 89 % Shots/Shots on Target: 15 /6 Tackles: 25 Aerial Battles Won: 40 % Fouls Won/Committed: 13/13 Arron says: 8.0 The first-half was a clear 10/10; the second was more of a medicore 6/10 which averages out at a respectable 8/10 in my book. Still, it's hard not to feel a little aggrieved about the eventual margin of victory. Even leaving Messi's penalty and subsequent miss aside, Barcelona had plenty of chances to really end this tie on Tuesday and now we have to pray that we won't come to regret our profligacy after our return leg at the Camp Nou. | |
| Luis Enrique | 7.1 |
Arron says: 8.5 Sticking with Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic worked an absolute treat and his substitutions were well-timed, even if one may argue that they initially invited more pressure on our struggling backline. | |
| MOTM - Luis Suarez | 51% |
Bostjan says: Suarez Clearly, Messi was very important for Barcelona to record this win, but the fact that he missed the penalty and the subsequent header probably cost him another Man of the Match award. He finished in second place with 31% of the votes, but was clearly outvoted by his Uruguayan teammate. Pique rounded out the top three with 8%. | |
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