MC 0-2 Barca: Messi & Alves finish off Man City

The red card shown to center-back Martin Demichelis was the key to Barcelona's 2-0 victory over hosts Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. The two goalscorers for the visitors were Lionel Messi and Dani Alves.

The joy of victory for the Barca players.

GOAL

Barca: Lionel Messi (penalty 54'), Dani Alves (90')

Red card: Martin Demichelis (53')

Facing Barca, Man City proactively played a pressing game, neutralizing key players like Leo Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Dani Alves. This cautious approach meant that despite having 75% possession, the visitors failed to create any truly dangerous scoring opportunities.

The most notable moment in the first 45 minutes belonged to Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo. In the 19th minute, receiving a clever through ball from David Silva, Negredo broke free, dribbled past defender Gerard Pique, and took a quick shot from a tight angle. Unfortunately, the ball went wide of Victor Valdes' goalpost.

In the first half, Manchester City's defense, with the solidity provided by the duo of Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis, did an excellent job of neutralizing Barcelona's attacking threats and repelling every attempt by the visitors.

In the second half, as the home team increased the pace of the game in search of a breakthrough, Barca unexpectedly scored the opening goal. The player who helped relieve the pressure on Tata Martino's team was Manchester City's central defender Demichelis. In the 53rd minute, Messi's skillful and fast dribbling forced Demichelis to commit a foul in the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and showed a red card to the Argentinian defender. From the penalty spot, Messi easily beat goalkeeper Joe Hart to open the scoring for the Catalan team. This was his seventh goal in the Champions League this season.

In the remaining minutes, playing with a man advantage, Barca became even more confident and created several dangerous situations in front of Hart's goal. Conversely, Man City were forced to push forward in search of an equalizer but were unsuccessful. With the home team unable to score, Barca further extended their lead. In the 90th minute, following a combination with Neymar on the right wing, Dani Alves confidently dribbled past the opposing defender before finishing with a shot through Hart's legs.

The final score was 2-0, and with this victory, Barca have a huge advantage going into the second leg against Man City at Camp Nou on March 13th.

In the match played at the same time, PSG secured an easy 4-0 victory against home team Bayer Leverkusen thanks to goals from Blaise Matuidi (3'), a brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic (39', 42') and Yohan Cabaye (88'). Thus, the French "rich club" has practically secured a place in the quarter-finals.

STARTING LINEUP

Man City: Hart, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Zabaleta, Kolarov (Lescott 58'), Silva, Toure, Navas (Nasri 58'), Fernandinho, Negredo (Dzeko 74').

Barca: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Alba, Mascherano, Fabregas (Sergi 86'), Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Messi, Sanchez.

According to Bongdaplus