Barcelona advanced into the quarter-finals of the Champions League following a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.
The Spanish outfit entered the tie as the firm favourites to advance into the last eight following a 2-0 victory when the pair met in the first leg last month.
Despite a host of opportunities for both sides, the first goal of the night did not arrive until the 67th minute, when Lionel Messi converted from close range.
It got worse for City when Pablo Zabaleta was sent from the field for dissent, but Vincent Kompany did level on the night for the visitors in the 89th minute.
That was not the end of the scoring, however, with Dani Alves netting late on for the hosts, who advanced 4-1 on aggregate.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two European rivals.
Match statistics
Barcelona
Shots: 16
On target: 9
Possession: 56%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 8
City
Shots: 9
On target: 5
Possession: 44%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 23
Was the result fair?
City can certainly take pride from their performance in the Camp Nou this evening, but Barcelona did deserve to win on the night and indeed advance over the two legs. Had a couple of decisions not gone against the hosts in the early stages, then they might have been out of sight at the interval. City did dominate for periods of the second half, but never really offered the impression that they could score twice and indeed keep Barcelona out at the other end. Overall, the superior team over the two legs are into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Barcelona's performance
A fast start from the visitors forced Barcelona to raise their intensity, with the Spanish side impressive in the early stages. They controlled long spells of the first half, but were guilty of missed opportunities. They wobbled defensively in the early stages of the second period, which has been the case on a number of occasions this season, but always had a threat in the final third. It wasn't Barcelona back to their very best, but they know how to win in this competition. Their big players came to the forefront this evening, with Messi and Andres Iniesta both terrific.
City's performance
One thing is for certain - City did not roll over this evening. The Premier League outfit caused Barcelona problems throughout the contest and while they had to ride their luck defensively, had chances to cause the Spanish side a bit of a scare. As already mentioned, a couple of early decisions went their way, but they can hold their heads high following a study performance at the Camp Nou. That said, despite the positives, they are still some way short of the top teams in European competition.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Andres Iniesta: Iniesta has not been an automatic choice for Barcelona at times this season, but he was the best player on the park at the Camp Nou. The magician was just everywhere, with City struggling to cope with his movement in the final third. The midfielder's performance was summed up in the latter stages when he had the ability to settle inside the City box having rounded Joe Hart, before setting up Alves for Barca's second. For long spells, he was in his own world.
Biggest gaffe
The referee had a torrid night at the Camp Nou, but this award goes to City defender Joleon Lescott. Early on, the centre-back was lucky not to concede a penalty for a rash challenge on Messi, but the former Everton player did not get away with another mistake in the second half, with his slip inside his own box allowing Messi to open the scoring. The first goal came at a time when City had Barcelona rattled. In fairness to Lescott, the England international made some smart challenges, but a poor moment cost his side.
Referee performance
Where to start? In truth, Stephane Lannoy had an absolute shocker this evening. The Frenchman failed to award Barcelona an early penalty when Lescott fouled Messi inside the box, before denying the home side a legitimate goal for offside. There were also a number of strange bookings throughout the contest, with City skipper Kompany handed a yellow card in the second half despite being the last man when he felled Neymar. City were on the receiving end of a poor decision in the latter stages, meanwhile, when the official turned down a penalty shout when Gerard Pique hauled Edin Dzeko to the ground. If that wasn't bad enough for City, Lannoy then sent Zabaleta from the field for dissent. It wasn't exactly an easy match to officiate due to the end-to-end nature of the contest, but the referee got a number of the big decisions wrong this evening.
What next?
Barcelona: The Catalan outfit resume their La Liga challenge on Sunday when they welcome Osasuna to the Camp Nou. As it stands, Gerardo Martino's side are four points behind league leaders Real Madrid.
City: Next up for City, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League - albeit with three games in hand on leaders Chelsea - is a trip to the KC Stadium to face Hull City on Saturday.
Matt Law
