Barcelona may have slipped from the summit of European football but this tie proved that Manchester City are still stranded half-way down the mountain. The Catalan giants arrived in Manchester on the back of a shock defeat to Malaga on Saturday that left them four points behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. And they were besieged by controversy about Lionel Messi’s visit to a casino in the early hours of Monday morning with team-mate Gerard Pique. Luis Suarez fired home from a tight angle after outwitting Vincent Kompany to put Barcelona ahead Suarez (left) finishes off a lovely move from a tight angle to give City a mountain to climb
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Manuel Pellegrini named an attacking line-up and his selection was punished
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His 4-4-2 system played into Barcelona's hands by leaving City hopelessly outnumbered in central midfield
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Luis Suarez struck twice in the first half hour to give Barcelona control
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Sergio Aguero hit back in the 69th minute to give City a Champions League lifeline
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Gael Clichy was sent off for a rash challenge on Dani Alves
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Joe Hart saved Lionel Messi's last-gasp penalty and the Argentine missed the rebound with a diving header
But @placeholder soothed all their visitors' uncertainties away with a performance that was timid, insipid and ineffective.