Gundogan scored twice, Man City 'paid back' Barca

Man City just defeated Barca for the first time when they won 3-1 in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage.

Midfielder Gundogan shined at the right moment to bring Man City an important victory. Photo: Reuters

Goals: Gundogan 39', 74', De Bruyne 51' - Messi 21'

A week after losing 0-4 at the Nou Camp, Man City found a way to limit the number of goals conceded when playing against Barca, while also knowing how to exploit the opponent's defensive mistakes. Thanks to two tap-ins from Ilkay Gundogan and a perfect free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne, the English team succeeded in earning three points at the Etihad Stadium. Meanwhile, despite scoring first through Messi, Barca still had to accept their first defeat in the 2016-2017 Champions League.

This is also the first time Man City has beaten Barca in major tournaments. In the previous five meetings, also in the Champions League, the blue team from Manchester always lost whether playing away or at home.

Tactically, in the match on the evening of November 1, Man City performed just as well as in the first half of the first leg. The English team not only had a similar possession rate, but also played an excellent counter-attack with Barca. All three of Man City's goals came from an active attack, while Barca had to rely on a counter-attack to find the net of goalkeeper Caballero.

Barca took the lead only to lose by three goals.

In addition to the tactical advantage outlined by coach Guardiola, Man City also has an important advantage in taking advantage of opportunities better. A week after missing many good situations at the Nou Camp, Gundogan and his teammates have found the necessary precision.

The midfielder himself scored a brace with easy close-range tap-ins from his teammates' crosses, while De Bruyne had a pivotal free-kick in the 51st minute. Had the post and goalkeeper Ter Stegen not denied several other chances, Man City could have scored more goals.

Meanwhile, Barca can only blame themselves for not taking advantage of their chances. During the 90 minutes, the former champions only succeeded once with a counter-attack in the 21st minute, when Neymar passed the ball from the left wing into the middle for Messi to shoot past Caballero. Barca had five other chances but they were not used well, including one shot hitting the post and another hitting the crossbar. The trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar did not have the necessary cohesion, and were separated from the midfield many times.

Besides the decline in form of the attack, Barca's defense also played a role in the defeat. In the 39th minute, when leading 1-0, the away team's defense unexpectedly made a big mistake when passing the ball right in front of the penalty area and allowing Man City to steal it.

The immediate aftermath saw Man City need just two simple passes to get the ball to Gundogan for a shot into an open goal. In the situation where the home team scored the third goal, Barca's defense also made a mistake when allowing the opponent to easily pass the ball down the wing, creating the conditions for another cross leading to an easy finish from Gundogan.

Man City had a convincing victory.

The defeat at the Etihad Stadium has slowed Barca's progress. The former champions still lead the table with nine points, but are only two points ahead of Man City. Barca need to win all two of their remaining matches to secure top spot at the end of the group stage.

Meanwhile, the victory helped Man City move closer to the round of 16. Not only that, Guardiola helped the English team erase the curse of defeat when meeting Barca.

According to VNE