MANCHESTER,
England — Luis Suárez ran in every direction. He slid at midfielders’
heels
. He banged into defenders. Once, when the opposing goalkeeper was
trying to throw the ball to a teammate, Suárez even jumped up in front
of him, hand in the air, as though he might try for a basketball-style
blocked shot.
It was as if Suárez wanted to be everywhere and do everything for Barcelona
on Tuesday night. Energy and excitement dripped from Suárez, who was
returning to England for the first time since leaving Liverpool last
summer. There was no petulance, no reminders of the biting episode that
marred his World Cup; there were only pep and two pretty goals that
pushed Barcelona to a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the first leg
of their Champions League round of 16 matchup.
“It
meant something to return to England,” said Suárez, who scored 69 goals
in three years for Liverpool. “The tie is still open, with the return
leg. But we’re Barca.”
The
teams will play again in Spain on March 18, giving Manchester City
Manager Manuel Pellegrini plenty of time to consider his tactics after
watching his team ripped open by Barcelona for the early part of the
opener. Suárez scored both goals — and broke out in wide, toothy smiles
after each — but Lionel Messi
played with the sort of unparalleled panache that has made him a global
superstar. Barcelona took full advantage of a wide-open midfield to
dominate the flow and tempo at Etihad Stadium.
Messi
glided around the field, dancing and darting and turning tiny crevices
of space into gaping holes. He played the ball through the legs of a
defender; tiptoeing along the end line, he brought a spinning high ball
under control as if he had it on a leash.
Pellegrini,
in starting forwards Edin Dzeko and Sergio Agüero together, allowed
Messi and Barcelona that freedom as a consequence of his effort to take
the attack directly to Barcelona. A year ago, City was knocked out of
the Champions League at this stage by Barcelona in a relative rout, the
4-1 aggregate score a reasonable reflection of City’s timidity.
On
this night, Pellegrini’s formation seemed to promise more but could not
deliver without its midfield stalwart, Yaya Touré, who was suspended.
With little defensive pressure, Suárez, Messi, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta
and the rest of Barcelona’s savvy artisans showcased their considerable
abilities on the ball, while the home fans (mostly) watched quietly.
“We couldn’t put three passes together in the first half,” Pellegrini said.
Barcelona
could. First, there was Messi chipping a pass into the penalty area in
the 16th minute, the ball bouncing kindly for Barcelona off City’s
captain, Vincent Kompany, and landing right in Suárez’s path. Suárez did
not hesitate, unleashing a wicked shot past goalkeeper Joe Hart and
turning away, arms raised, as he was mobbed by his teammates.
It
was a well-taken opportunity, to be sure, but nothing compared with the
quality of Suárez’s second goal about 15 minutes later. Messi began the
move again, dancing and feinting his way past defenders before sending
Jordi Alba through with a deft pass that Alba cut back across the 6-yard
box to where Suárez, dipping and slashing into free space, could push
the ball over the line.
Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
“It
is quite evident that we pressed until the first goal, and then we
panicked a bit,” Hart said. “I think that was blatantly obvious to see.”
After
the second goal, Barcelona’s manager, Luis Enrique, pumped his fist on
the sideline, shouting at his players as they celebrated again. It has
been a difficult stretch for Barcelona, and a surprising loss to Málaga
during the weekend had only served to make the crisis feel more real.
Now,
with two away goals conceded and a one-goal deficit to overcome, the
pressure is squarely on Pellegrini and City, who will be trying to avoid
yet another disappointing performance on the sport’s biggest stage.
City has flourished since receiving an infusion of cash from Abu
Dhabi-based investors in 2008, winning two Premier League titles, an
F.A. Cup and a League Cup, but has found success in the Champions League
to be elusive. Last year, Barcelona thrashed City, while this year, the
team barely qualified for the knockout rounds before running into
Barcelona again.
Will
it be different this time? Perhaps. Pellegrini can at least take solace
in Agüero’s 69th-minute goal, a beautiful piece of play that featured
David Silva’s gorgeous flick before Agüero blasted a shot past Barcelona
goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
So,
too, can Pellegrini look to his goalkeeper, Hart, who saved a penalty
from Messi in the closing seconds as City, which played the final 16
minutes with 10 men after Gaël Clichy was sent off for a second yellow
card, tried to hang on.
But
there is still the daunting reality: To advance, City will have to beat
Barcelona at Camp Nou. And when one considers that Enrique’s biggest
concern may be whether to continue letting Messi take penalties (Enrique
said he was not considering a switch), it is abundantly clear which
team is in command.
“It was not the best result at home,” Pellegrini said. “But we will try.”
He added: “This tie isn’t over until the game finishes in Barcelona. We can analyze things then.”
No comments:
Post a Comment