You dont assemble a £500m squad then you get embarrassed like this! it looked like City didnt even attempt to compete! I think this was a complete failure by Pep's tactics to begin with! You play with same formation all season and in a crucial game you play at Barcelona's hands! Barcelona normally lose against wide playing teams! City currently play a good 4-1-4-1 but why change it?
Pep sets up 4-3-3 and leaves the most important player out? You cannot experiment against Messi! City were never going to win the game anyway but a 2:1 loss could have worked out better I think instead of an embarrassment 4:0! Expect Bayern or Real in group stages next!
Don't think there was anything between the teams at 11v11, first goal was a comedy of errors. Start of the 2nd half city were on top and then as usual we shoot ourselves in the foot. You can't afford to make mistakes and not take chances against barca. Overall the difference between the 2 sides was a red card, lack of concentration and messi brilliance. Heres to hoping we arent as stupid at the Etihad.
@mason1996 I think way too much is made of the final scoreline. It was mostly a butterfly effect after the sending off. The first goal was the symptom of a team finding their feet - who takes responsibility? That will come. The red card was an horrendous individual error. Yes, Pep needs brilliant players to make is tactics work, but he isn't far away from having that. I'll judge them once they've settled into the new approach.
@6seconds I agree, unlucky with the slip of fernandinho for the first. Pep himself said it would take time for his ideas to be implemented correctly, and i dont think many people predicted us to make such a good start. Overall i am happy with the start of the season, just hope we can get out of this rut.
Obviously Messi got MotM and ter Stegen made some very good saves, but a player who I though also had a great game was Umtiti. Especially considering this was agame where his defensive partners seemed to be dropping like flys and he had to move to the right side even though he is left footed, he looked assured and solid the whole game, not putting a foot wrong and making some vital interceptions. I believe Pique is one of the greatest CB's in the game today and that is mostly due to his tackling ability, making last ditch, important tackles. However, I believe Umtiti repsresents a different type of CB, who doesn't necessarily have to make tackles due to his very good positioning. So many times tonight, umtiti was in the right place at the right time to stop the pass and get his body in the way. It's only the start of the season but from what i saw in the Euros and what Ive seen so far, Umtiti could become a very important player for Barcelona and I hope they keep him in the starting 11
LOL Guardiola still at it! Pathetic coach hasn't won a game in a month. Absolutely hammered by Barca and couldn't even keep it close. Nice tactics Pep! Lol so overrated. Can't wait for the thumbs down without any explanation. Pep proves he is not smart by getting Old/Awful Bravo in the first place. He has been horrific and Pep says he's playing well, what a clown!
@Calcio_Guy at list bravo is a good passer, not so good at making saves but pep only think about one thing and one thing only. making 100's of passes a game. keep the ball away from opp and bored them by only passing the ball away and not trying to create anything.
@Calcio_Guy Agree with you about Bravo, any sensible goal keeper would have cleared that ball instead of passing it straight to Suarez and got sent off. But I wouldn't be that hard on Pep, in the first half they were able to compete with City and caused them trouble by pressing very high which is exactly neither of these teams like. First goal was awful defending and third goal came because City was too afraid to loose possession so Gundogan opted to play back to goal keeper. The result was disappointing, even humiliating, but first half performance was some what promising, excluding awful defending which Pep need to do something about.
@Castle I completely agree, if Bravo wasn't in goal this would have been a fairly close game. But he played and Pep loves him even though he hasn't only costed them so far. The reason I'm being so harsh on Pep is because everyone here seems to think he is the best coach in the world which he clearly isn't. He has been very influential in the way he implements his tactics to his team but he gets it wrong so often. People are saying he is so great yet he has only coached the best teams in their respective leagues. I wonder what he could do with Stoke City, Valencia or Torino. I actually don't hate Pep but anytime I was anything negative people blindly jump to his defense. If he someone doesn't win the Premier League with this squad then it will be an utter failure.
It looked as though City almost matched Barcelona when it was 11 v 11 but farcical defending brought them down (who would've thought?! Lol). I'm actually quite surprised at the stats, in particular total shots (12 - 8) and possession (53% - 47%) considering City were down to 10 for 20 minutes. That would usually result in being peppered with shots and dominated in the extreme (ie not being able to get the ball back). Strangely, although City looked well beaten here, it's not beyond the realms of possibility for them to win at the Etihad albeit almost certainly not 4-0 to cancel out that head-to-head result. Ah well. In the end, Barcelona will win the group and City will finish 2nd. Exactly how everybody thought it would.
@SteveHyland Nah, City never matched Barça. Stats don't tell the whole story. The truth is City's attacks almost never looked really dangerous, whilst almost every time the MSN got the ball in attacking positions they did loads of harm.
City's mistakes were caused both due to Barça's high pressing and the sheer terror their attacking force struck in their hearts. BTW: it's a pity Zbaleta got injured, specially since he shouldn't have been ojn the pitch long enough for that. He should have seen 3 yellows in the first half
@SteveHyland i felt that the game was pretty much a tie especially in between pique was subbed off and bravo was sent off, in that period city could have made more out of the game. barca not too often plays with digne - umtiti - mathieu - mascherano at the back, imo that could have seen very well that both the transition from defense to attack and from attack to defense wasnt really confident, at least it wasnt what we have used to from barca. on the other side, city made some major errors that is unaccaptable on this level and barcas forward could punish these any day. so overall both side was a bit disappointing, but aside from the errors from city i really liked them, the positives of barca yesterday was shown by individual brilliance mainly and taking advantages of those errors. on the return match i expect a point or even points for man city.
Citizens desperately loves Leo Every time city faces Barcelona they tend to enjoy watching little magician play and dictate the game... City can beat almost any one but not Barcelona... !!!
@neumi17 Actually they did beat Bayern twice once at home and other at allianz... So don't talk nonsense.... Enjoy the game ... Till Leo is playing afterall city tends to his Fav prey!!!
@NuchalLine- City seemed to match Barca for large portions of the game, when the number of players were level. In any case, a league's strength is not determined by the best 1, 2 or 3 teams, it is determined by the rest of the teams. You know... the whole league. I know it's a tough concept to grasp for somebody with a Neanderthal command of the language but do try.
@NuchalLine Well the real answer is? Is it as competive as Bulgarian league?Yes even in Bulgaria you will different team competing for the title.
Becoz Man Utd won 13 chamionship modern day since 24 times. So take that competition.
City's defending isn't good enough. They've been already in trouble against Swansea, Celtic and Tottenham who pressed high against them and today they made horrible errors. Pep will work things out or they'll have to sign two or three defenders and possibly new goal keeper, if Bravo won't improve and Kompany's fitness problems continue. Otherwise City played quite well in the first half and looked like they could equalize. I'm not sure why Aguero didn't start, wasn't he fit yet or was it one of Pep's famous tactical changes? Zabaleta's positioning was curious, when City had the ball he didn't usually push forward but cut inside next to Fernandinho. Did anyone notice that?
@Castle thump up.. you're 100% right. As said pundits in BEin sport if they were calm a littel bite they could score more than 1 one goal like celtaVigo
@Ffaris Well there's time to improve defense before any signings can be made. What I'm quite sure about is that full backs are replaced in the summer, and possibly one CB if Kompany won't recover or if he won't fit in. Stones has lot work to do but Pep likes him and he won't be dropped. But Otamendi looks too reckless for Pep's City so it's going to be him.
@danyal.maathers.5 not really he had less possession even b4 bravo red card. And he had less poession against mochengladbach as well. This guadiola is more adaptable than the bayern one.
@BeautifulLoser i've never seen a goal keeper like him he will cost the city all games. Too many opportunities lost with weak shots or bad passes and crosses or because of sliping . I think Barca are very poor like the city in the back but they have MSN to save them. Apparently Enrique will be punished hardly by the Real this season.
@sampo It's a mystery to me. Claudio Bravo was quite good in the season after the World Cup. But he has become a liability. He is a clear and present danger for his own team. He is a "Ter Stegen to the third power". I've seen his last games with Chile and I was terrorized by his performance.
@sampo Barça are the opposite of poor at the back... very solid, at least with Pique and Umtiti back there. When Roberto is back too, Barça have one of the best back lines in Europe!
@ksaviauk usually a defender gets away with either good positioning or pace, but Stones LACKS BOTH positioning and pace. I can't believe a club can pay so much for a bad CB just because he's good with his feet... SMH
Business as usual, Barca with a few goals, Messi the guy who scores them and Pep loses to a spanish club again without scoring a goal. Doesn`t get more predictable than that ...
As Barca fans i feel sory for them . Man city always gets a red card or penalty againts us . Ter Stergen touch the ball outside the the box in La Liga and not even a yellow card. Proud to be UEFALONA we can always conquer anything with the help of the referee and uefa. we are the best in the world #ViscaBarca
@Vellicahearst Damn it must really be painful to be you right now, does making these statements make you feel better ?..........you have been doing this for a while and I've always been curious.
@BetaV Hardly see the relation between being a fan of someone and being a loser. i mean this guy probably is because that comment was pure garbage but still..
@SmoothJitsu253 Ah, I just mean because he's penaldo's fan so I'm not surprised about his comment. Of course I call him loser because his comment not because he's a fan of anyone.
I understand that fernandinho was fallen, poor guy, but why the the rest of players only only Standing watching messi score with that class finishing ?!
Players like Otamendi (Valencia and Argentina ). C. Bravo (Barcelona and Chile) Zabaleta (Man City and Argentina) Nolito (Celta De Vigo) Brune (Belgium) Aguero( Man City and Argentina). These are players that have played against Lionel Messi and thier teams disappointed Messi. They're world class. And I believe under PEP. Former Barcelona and Bayern Coach they can get the best out themselves. Thier last game 1-1 draw against Everton was a cautious game to preserve players energy tank. Players like Nolito and Aguero started on bench and I think today is the big game. They can forget the penalties they missed against Everton and think about Today. Barcelona attacking 3rd may be available but not the real. Messi just returned from Injury. Umtiti and Pique still conceding goals. I would pick a draw bcoz it's almost impossible to win at Nou Camp.
@njamimaranga there is nothing in football impossible,though i don't think MC will get anything from here, they are mentally weak when they face strong side
Its gonna be good test for Stones and Otamendi partnership...but i guess it should be easy for Barca....on the other end Silva, De Bruyne and Aguero will hold the key...and one of them will definitely score...Barca Win...
Teams Pep has managed so far have been best or among the best in the world. Although City are very good side they're not at the level of Barca or Bayern. Even Pep said it'll take time before they can really compete in CL. I'd rather take this as chance to impress for Guardiola. City are still in process, it wouldn't be a failure even if they lost by a goal or two. They have more to gain than loose here and it's actually good for them to see how much they still need to improve. But I'm afraid media thinks the same way, big failure stories tend to sell better.
massive game, barcelona's been not so good lately, but tonight msn are finally back together. guardiola with his extreme tactics is gonna play with fire at nou camp. i think he'll loose, but maybe he could scare barca a little bit. 4-2
Woah @Mattia How you been. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. You one oldest member here. Always a pleasure hear your pov on the match. Quite honestly it is always spot on.
@neumi17 Well he could still learn though. With Bayern, he lost first legs largely because of his tactics and strange maneuvers. But the fact they play at Barcelona could save City from big defeat. If Barca keeps the ball, City could be able to defend better than when holding the ball as Barca gives them pressure and forces them to errors. But let's see if Pep wants his team stubbornly to keep the ball and press high on the pitch or if he figures out something else.
well i support ter stegen more but bravo has been better for citeh than ter stegen for barca. But i agree ter stegen gives options that bravo never did. Even if ter stegen is opposition tries pressure(in order to force to mistake) he would give same pass as he would when he is not under pressure. That takes lot of guts. He is one of kind gk.
Win for Barca Pep team never had been good in oppostion turf. Unless it is small team. Even then he gets a sucker punch every now and then.
Im gonna go 3-1 Barca here. Can't see us getting anything. We are still in a transitional period, still learning our style of play. Barca have been a well oiled machine for years now. Yes their defence can be dodgy sometimes but trying to keep MSN quiet is almost impossible at times; especially for our defence. Saying that, it should be a great game.
My feeling tells me also to play BTTS and Barca to win. Both teams have the quality to score. But I also don't rule out a highscoring draw 2-2. But Barca @home is very strong in these type of games. Their back four are a bit shaky, especially against Aguero, de Bruyne and Silva and the pace of Sterling I can see them giveaway (a) goals(). With MSN upfront and Iniesta and Rakitic to back them from the midfield you can almost expect Barca to score: 2-1
@Ranjanabhijeet Nah it is other way around. Pep never had potential to beat team in their homeground. He does at his own turf. Even at bayern and barca he had the same problem.
City's form is dropping and Pep probably is pretty emotional about this game. Playing at Camp Nou against a Barca team with Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic back. This could be an awful game for City, as they're probably going to be vulnerable in transition when losing the ball. Barca should have a field day with the space they'll have in this game, 3-1.
I think Pep knows what he's up against and surely will tell his players not to try and defend because you cannot cope defending against Barcelona! I think it will be a cracking game where both teams will play football! I think Barcelona will score at least 3 goals here and City will have a consolation goal here as they have the quality to score! City's backline is a huge suspect when facing Messi, Suarez and Neymar! Zabaleta vs Neymar, Stones vs Suarez and Kolarov vs Messi! Good luck with that!
Pep's weakness is that he is so gentle a man he hates to defeat a formidable opponent when playing away, he has too much respect for formidable opponents when he goes away. This was what affected at Bayern that throughout is tenure he could not even get to the UCL final talkless of lift the trophy. I don't see him fairing better with City and he will find it daunting to beat Manuel Pellegrini's record of getting City to the semi-finals.
Pep couldnt win away against Porto, Benfica, or even Celtic, Shakthar, Arsenal so there is no chance for him in this too. Their current form is weak, while Barca bounced back and Messi is back as well. I think 4-0. MSN all to score 1 goal and Iniesta too.
It's extremely difficult to beat Barcelona in Nou Camp especially when they are in good form. This will be a good test for City and Guardiola to see how well they can do in Europe this season. Guardiola's teams play one of the best football out there if not the best but his problem is that he's just too loyal to his philosophy. He wants to dominate the other team at all cost. It's impossible to dominate a team like Barcelona and that is why he has been getting criticisms in his career. If he had been more conservative in UCL against likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and ATM maybe he would've achieved greater things.
@CirdomAkul Not really his match against Mochengladbach he lot less possesion against mochengladbach only after scoring all goals his team decided to control possession as defensvie measure.
@CirdomAkul- It would've been difficult for Pep's Bayern to be conservative last season against Atletico because they intentionally drop back against the dominant footballing teams. The Bayerns, Barcelonas etc of the world automatically dominate against Atletico because they intentionally relinquish possession with the aim to counter quickly and efficiently. It's the best (only?) way for them to beat the top team. With this City team who actually aren't the best in the prem despite the general arse-kissing which is going on at the moment, they will have to be more cautious and luckily Pep is playing against a team who likes to dominate at home, regardless of the opposition, so it could work in their favour. Defensively, City will need to be tight. If they play as open as they have in prem games this season, they'll concede 3 times at least and you will be lucky to leave the Nou Camp with a 3-3 draw or 4-3 win. Defence has always been pep's Achilles' heel. I expect it to be here too.
@What4- Ha, yeah just not for him. Funnily enough City started a back 3 against Everton at the weekend. Will we see it again?.... for the first 15 minutes at least.
After this match, the whole CL season may as well retire I think, even the final cannot be a bigger clash. I expect both team to score, which may be end up in a draw.
@futballstar What? There are plenty of teams that are better and more reputable than City ! It's only special because of Pep history, other than that It's just a normal opponent for Barca ...
@futballstar We are talking about Manchester City. I understand that they play one of the best football out there but there are bigger and better teams than them. Even Guardiola would say the same thing.
Wait.. WTF where's Iniesta's 2nd assist??
joe hart should play for man city when he gets back from loan
Ter Stegen is Germany's second keeper! He's almost as good as Neur!
@albgunn He is a good keeper but so are many in Germany. I wouldn`t say he is No.2, there are several other on his level behind Neuer ...
You dont assemble a £500m squad then you get embarrassed like this! it looked like City didnt even attempt to compete! I think this was a complete failure by Pep's tactics to begin with! You play with same formation all season and in a crucial game you play at Barcelona's hands! Barcelona normally lose against wide playing teams! City currently play a good 4-1-4-1 but why change it? Pep sets up 4-3-3 and leaves the most important player out? You cannot experiment against Messi! City were never going to win the game anyway but a 2:1 loss could have worked out better I think instead of an embarrassment 4:0! Expect Bayern or Real in group stages next!
unacceptable, I mean, Barc is good, but as City's fan, this is totally unacceptable.
Don't think there was anything between the teams at 11v11, first goal was a comedy of errors. Start of the 2nd half city were on top and then as usual we shoot ourselves in the foot. You can't afford to make mistakes and not take chances against barca. Overall the difference between the 2 sides was a red card, lack of concentration and messi brilliance. Heres to hoping we arent as stupid at the Etihad.
@mason1996 I think way too much is made of the final scoreline. It was mostly a butterfly effect after the sending off. The first goal was the symptom of a team finding their feet - who takes responsibility? That will come. The red card was an horrendous individual error. Yes, Pep needs brilliant players to make is tactics work, but he isn't far away from having that. I'll judge them once they've settled into the new approach.
@6seconds I agree, unlucky with the slip of fernandinho for the first. Pep himself said it would take time for his ideas to be implemented correctly, and i dont think many people predicted us to make such a good start. Overall i am happy with the start of the season, just hope we can get out of this rut.
Obviously Messi got MotM and ter Stegen made some very good saves, but a player who I though also had a great game was Umtiti. Especially considering this was agame where his defensive partners seemed to be dropping like flys and he had to move to the right side even though he is left footed, he looked assured and solid the whole game, not putting a foot wrong and making some vital interceptions. I believe Pique is one of the greatest CB's in the game today and that is mostly due to his tackling ability, making last ditch, important tackles. However, I believe Umtiti repsresents a different type of CB, who doesn't necessarily have to make tackles due to his very good positioning. So many times tonight, umtiti was in the right place at the right time to stop the pass and get his body in the way. It's only the start of the season but from what i saw in the Euros and what Ive seen so far, Umtiti could become a very important player for Barcelona and I hope they keep him in the starting 11
LOL Guardiola still at it! Pathetic coach hasn't won a game in a month. Absolutely hammered by Barca and couldn't even keep it close. Nice tactics Pep! Lol so overrated. Can't wait for the thumbs down without any explanation. Pep proves he is not smart by getting Old/Awful Bravo in the first place. He has been horrific and Pep says he's playing well, what a clown!
@Calcio_Guy at list bravo is a good passer, not so good at making saves but pep only think about one thing and one thing only. making 100's of passes a game. keep the ball away from opp and bored them by only passing the ball away and not trying to create anything.
@Calcio_Guy Agree with you about Bravo, any sensible goal keeper would have cleared that ball instead of passing it straight to Suarez and got sent off. But I wouldn't be that hard on Pep, in the first half they were able to compete with City and caused them trouble by pressing very high which is exactly neither of these teams like. First goal was awful defending and third goal came because City was too afraid to loose possession so Gundogan opted to play back to goal keeper. The result was disappointing, even humiliating, but first half performance was some what promising, excluding awful defending which Pep need to do something about.
@Castle I completely agree, if Bravo wasn't in goal this would have been a fairly close game. But he played and Pep loves him even though he hasn't only costed them so far. The reason I'm being so harsh on Pep is because everyone here seems to think he is the best coach in the world which he clearly isn't. He has been very influential in the way he implements his tactics to his team but he gets it wrong so often. People are saying he is so great yet he has only coached the best teams in their respective leagues. I wonder what he could do with Stoke City, Valencia or Torino. I actually don't hate Pep but anytime I was anything negative people blindly jump to his defense. If he someone doesn't win the Premier League with this squad then it will be an utter failure.
EPL "top" side totally destroyed and humbled at the Camp Nou... nothing new here.
It looked as though City almost matched Barcelona when it was 11 v 11 but farcical defending brought them down (who would've thought?! Lol). I'm actually quite surprised at the stats, in particular total shots (12 - 8) and possession (53% - 47%) considering City were down to 10 for 20 minutes. That would usually result in being peppered with shots and dominated in the extreme (ie not being able to get the ball back). Strangely, although City looked well beaten here, it's not beyond the realms of possibility for them to win at the Etihad albeit almost certainly not 4-0 to cancel out that head-to-head result. Ah well. In the end, Barcelona will win the group and City will finish 2nd. Exactly how everybody thought it would.
@SteveHyland Nah, City never matched Barça. Stats don't tell the whole story. The truth is City's attacks almost never looked really dangerous, whilst almost every time the MSN got the ball in attacking positions they did loads of harm. City's mistakes were caused both due to Barça's high pressing and the sheer terror their attacking force struck in their hearts. BTW: it's a pity Zbaleta got injured, specially since he shouldn't have been ojn the pitch long enough for that. He should have seen 3 yellows in the first half
@SteveHyland i felt that the game was pretty much a tie especially in between pique was subbed off and bravo was sent off, in that period city could have made more out of the game. barca not too often plays with digne - umtiti - mathieu - mascherano at the back, imo that could have seen very well that both the transition from defense to attack and from attack to defense wasnt really confident, at least it wasnt what we have used to from barca. on the other side, city made some major errors that is unaccaptable on this level and barcas forward could punish these any day. so overall both side was a bit disappointing, but aside from the errors from city i really liked them, the positives of barca yesterday was shown by individual brilliance mainly and taking advantages of those errors. on the return match i expect a point or even points for man city.
Ter stegen was solid tonight
@levi22 he deserve at least 9
@sampo ManCity had 4 shots on goal ...
@neumi17 of which most were clear chances, not always about the quantity, but quality as well.
@bradley.fcb Eh, you can't really say more than 2 were clear chances. Maybe even 1.
Citizens desperately loves Leo Every time city faces Barcelona they tend to enjoy watching little magician play and dictate the game... City can beat almost any one but not Barcelona... !!!
@Abhi_Rj They can`t beat Bayern either and lots of other teams, what are you talking about ??
@neumi17 Actually they did beat Bayern twice once at home and other at allianz... So don't talk nonsense.... Enjoy the game ... Till Leo is playing afterall city tends to his Fav prey!!!
EPL is the best league in the world lololol
@NuchalLine- City seemed to match Barca for large portions of the game, when the number of players were level. In any case, a league's strength is not determined by the best 1, 2 or 3 teams, it is determined by the rest of the teams. You know... the whole league. I know it's a tough concept to grasp for somebody with a Neanderthal command of the language but do try.
@NuchalLine Well the real answer is? Is it as competive as Bulgarian league?Yes even in Bulgaria you will different team competing for the title. Becoz Man Utd won 13 chamionship modern day since 24 times. So take that competition.
.........Humble yourselves before the GOAT.......
City's defending isn't good enough. They've been already in trouble against Swansea, Celtic and Tottenham who pressed high against them and today they made horrible errors. Pep will work things out or they'll have to sign two or three defenders and possibly new goal keeper, if Bravo won't improve and Kompany's fitness problems continue. Otherwise City played quite well in the first half and looked like they could equalize. I'm not sure why Aguero didn't start, wasn't he fit yet or was it one of Pep's famous tactical changes? Zabaleta's positioning was curious, when City had the ball he didn't usually push forward but cut inside next to Fernandinho. Did anyone notice that?
@Castle thump up.. you're 100% right. As said pundits in BEin sport if they were calm a littel bite they could score more than 1 one goal like celtaVigo
@Castle I'm just curious so who do you think should be replaced stones or otamendi?
@Ffaris Well there's time to improve defense before any signings can be made. What I'm quite sure about is that full backs are replaced in the summer, and possibly one CB if Kompany won't recover or if he won't fit in. Stones has lot work to do but Pep likes him and he won't be dropped. But Otamendi looks too reckless for Pep's City so it's going to be him.
@Ffaris Otamendi didn't quite cover himself in glory, but at least he ain't a slow flop like Stones
Iniesta have 2 assist's
@Dubois Agreed. Some stats are just obviously wrong...
thats guardiolas problem he is stubborn and always plays the same tactics
@danyal.maathers.5 Stubborn or plain stupid ?
@danyal.maathers.5 not really he had less possession even b4 bravo red card. And he had less poession against mochengladbach as well. This guadiola is more adaptable than the bayern one.
Claudio Bravo is really PATHETIC.
@BeautifulLoser i've never seen a goal keeper like him he will cost the city all games. Too many opportunities lost with weak shots or bad passes and crosses or because of sliping . I think Barca are very poor like the city in the back but they have MSN to save them. Apparently Enrique will be punished hardly by the Real this season.
@sampo It's a mystery to me. Claudio Bravo was quite good in the season after the World Cup. But he has become a liability. He is a clear and present danger for his own team. He is a "Ter Stegen to the third power". I've seen his last games with Chile and I was terrorized by his performance.
@sampo Barça are the opposite of poor at the back... very solid, at least with Pique and Umtiti back there. When Roberto is back too, Barça have one of the best back lines in Europe!
Stones is 50m.. Absoultely terrible defender
@ksaviauk usually a defender gets away with either good positioning or pace, but Stones LACKS BOTH positioning and pace. I can't believe a club can pay so much for a bad CB just because he's good with his feet... SMH
@ksaviauk even the first goal .. he didnt do any effort. City defenders are affected by Bravo Virus..(returning the ball to the opponent) .
Messi too good
@glenbayern Messi is the Fusball gott.
that was not sucker punch but a knock out punch. Ohhh that gotta hurt.
this MC team is just a joke, ridiculous
What a sad Game for City...played so well..created GOOD chances to score...but made GREAT mistakes for Barca to score...!!!
Business as usual, Barca with a few goals, Messi the guy who scores them and Pep loses to a spanish club again without scoring a goal. Doesn`t get more predictable than that ...
As Barca fans i feel sory for them . Man city always gets a red card or penalty againts us . Ter Stergen touch the ball outside the the box in La Liga and not even a yellow card. Proud to be UEFALONA we can always conquer anything with the help of the referee and uefa. we are the best in the world #ViscaBarca
@Vellicahearst Damn it must really be painful to be you right now, does making these statements make you feel better ?..........you have been doing this for a while and I've always been curious.
@Vellicahearst Haha... A penaldo's fan. Such a loser!
@BetaV Hardly see the relation between being a fan of someone and being a loser. i mean this guy probably is because that comment was pure garbage but still..
@SmoothJitsu253 Ah, I just mean because he's penaldo's fan so I'm not surprised about his comment. Of course I call him loser because his comment not because he's a fan of anyone.
barcelona unimpressive against pressing yet again.just like against arsenal last season yet they somehow win
wow going for lower possession again! Just like in mochengladbach match.
I understand that fernandinho was fallen, poor guy, but why the the rest of players only only Standing watching messi score with that class finishing ?!
@Mahmoud_eneid aguero was shoulder to shoulder with him but just froze
@Terry aguero !
@Mahmoud_eneid Exactly. They were all standing, just watching.
awful defending from City
Barcelona 2 - 1 Man City
Berabere biter. "0"
Players like Otamendi (Valencia and Argentina ). C. Bravo (Barcelona and Chile) Zabaleta (Man City and Argentina) Nolito (Celta De Vigo) Brune (Belgium) Aguero( Man City and Argentina). These are players that have played against Lionel Messi and thier teams disappointed Messi. They're world class. And I believe under PEP. Former Barcelona and Bayern Coach they can get the best out themselves. Thier last game 1-1 draw against Everton was a cautious game to preserve players energy tank. Players like Nolito and Aguero started on bench and I think today is the big game. They can forget the penalties they missed against Everton and think about Today. Barcelona attacking 3rd may be available but not the real. Messi just returned from Injury. Umtiti and Pique still conceding goals. I would pick a draw bcoz it's almost impossible to win at Nou Camp.
@njamimaranga there is nothing in football impossible,though i don't think MC will get anything from here, they are mentally weak when they face strong side
Its gonna be good test for Stones and Otamendi partnership...but i guess it should be easy for Barca....on the other end Silva, De Bruyne and Aguero will hold the key...and one of them will definitely score...Barca Win...
I expect lots of goal in this match
Teams Pep has managed so far have been best or among the best in the world. Although City are very good side they're not at the level of Barca or Bayern. Even Pep said it'll take time before they can really compete in CL. I'd rather take this as chance to impress for Guardiola. City are still in process, it wouldn't be a failure even if they lost by a goal or two. They have more to gain than loose here and it's actually good for them to see how much they still need to improve. But I'm afraid media thinks the same way, big failure stories tend to sell better.
massive game, barcelona's been not so good lately, but tonight msn are finally back together. guardiola with his extreme tactics is gonna play with fire at nou camp. i think he'll loose, but maybe he could scare barca a little bit. 4-2
Woah @Mattia How you been. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. You one oldest member here. Always a pleasure hear your pov on the match. Quite honestly it is always spot on.
Pep always loses in away games against spanish clubs. So 3-1
@neumi17 Well he could still learn though. With Bayern, he lost first legs largely because of his tactics and strange maneuvers. But the fact they play at Barcelona could save City from big defeat. If Barca keeps the ball, City could be able to defend better than when holding the ball as Barca gives them pressure and forces them to errors. But let's see if Pep wants his team stubbornly to keep the ball and press high on the pitch or if he figures out something else.
well i support ter stegen more but bravo has been better for citeh than ter stegen for barca. But i agree ter stegen gives options that bravo never did. Even if ter stegen is opposition tries pressure(in order to force to mistake) he would give same pass as he would when he is not under pressure. That takes lot of guts. He is one of kind gk. Win for Barca Pep team never had been good in oppostion turf. Unless it is small team. Even then he gets a sucker punch every now and then.
Im gonna go 3-1 Barca here. Can't see us getting anything. We are still in a transitional period, still learning our style of play. Barca have been a well oiled machine for years now. Yes their defence can be dodgy sometimes but trying to keep MSN quiet is almost impossible at times; especially for our defence. Saying that, it should be a great game.
My feeling tells me also to play BTTS and Barca to win. Both teams have the quality to score. But I also don't rule out a highscoring draw 2-2. But Barca @home is very strong in these type of games. Their back four are a bit shaky, especially against Aguero, de Bruyne and Silva and the pace of Sterling I can see them giveaway (a) goals(). With MSN upfront and Iniesta and Rakitic to back them from the midfield you can almost expect Barca to score: 2-1
should be a draw because both teams and managers are insane
Pep has the potential to defeat strong teams in their home ground... De bruyne is in the great form.... Bt a/c to me the match will end with draw..!
@Ranjanabhijeet Nah it is other way around. Pep never had potential to beat team in their homeground. He does at his own turf. Even at bayern and barca he had the same problem.
City's form is dropping and Pep probably is pretty emotional about this game. Playing at Camp Nou against a Barca team with Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic back. This could be an awful game for City, as they're probably going to be vulnerable in transition when losing the ball. Barca should have a field day with the space they'll have in this game, 3-1.
I think Pep knows what he's up against and surely will tell his players not to try and defend because you cannot cope defending against Barcelona! I think it will be a cracking game where both teams will play football! I think Barcelona will score at least 3 goals here and City will have a consolation goal here as they have the quality to score! City's backline is a huge suspect when facing Messi, Suarez and Neymar! Zabaleta vs Neymar, Stones vs Suarez and Kolarov vs Messi! Good luck with that!
Pep's weakness is that he is so gentle a man he hates to defeat a formidable opponent when playing away, he has too much respect for formidable opponents when he goes away. This was what affected at Bayern that throughout is tenure he could not even get to the UCL final talkless of lift the trophy. I don't see him fairing better with City and he will find it daunting to beat Manuel Pellegrini's record of getting City to the semi-finals.
Pep couldnt win away against Porto, Benfica, or even Celtic, Shakthar, Arsenal so there is no chance for him in this too. Their current form is weak, while Barca bounced back and Messi is back as well. I think 4-0. MSN all to score 1 goal and Iniesta too.
@radaner There is a chance becouse they go against stronger side with different mentality
@ksaviauk Stronger mentality but still lose each time...
Messi nutmegs
It's extremely difficult to beat Barcelona in Nou Camp especially when they are in good form. This will be a good test for City and Guardiola to see how well they can do in Europe this season. Guardiola's teams play one of the best football out there if not the best but his problem is that he's just too loyal to his philosophy. He wants to dominate the other team at all cost. It's impossible to dominate a team like Barcelona and that is why he has been getting criticisms in his career. If he had been more conservative in UCL against likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and ATM maybe he would've achieved greater things.
@CirdomAkul Not really his match against Mochengladbach he lot less possesion against mochengladbach only after scoring all goals his team decided to control possession as defensvie measure.
@CirdomAkul- It would've been difficult for Pep's Bayern to be conservative last season against Atletico because they intentionally drop back against the dominant footballing teams. The Bayerns, Barcelonas etc of the world automatically dominate against Atletico because they intentionally relinquish possession with the aim to counter quickly and efficiently. It's the best (only?) way for them to beat the top team. With this City team who actually aren't the best in the prem despite the general arse-kissing which is going on at the moment, they will have to be more cautious and luckily Pep is playing against a team who likes to dominate at home, regardless of the opposition, so it could work in their favour. Defensively, City will need to be tight. If they play as open as they have in prem games this season, they'll concede 3 times at least and you will be lucky to leave the Nou Camp with a 3-3 draw or 4-3 win. Defence has always been pep's Achilles' heel. I expect it to be here too.
@CirdomAkul @SteveHyland Remember when Pep set up Bayern with a back three against Barca, away from home? That was fun.
@What4- Ha, yeah just not for him. Funnily enough City started a back 3 against Everton at the weekend. Will we see it again?.... for the first 15 minutes at least.
After this match, the whole CL season may as well retire I think, even the final cannot be a bigger clash. I expect both team to score, which may be end up in a draw.
@futballstar What? There are plenty of teams that are better and more reputable than City ! It's only special because of Pep history, other than that It's just a normal opponent for Barca ...
@futballstar We are talking about Manchester City. I understand that they play one of the best football out there but there are bigger and better teams than them. Even Guardiola would say the same thing.