Manuel Pellegrini praised Joe Hart’s last-minute penalty save from Lionel Messi as “very important” but criticised Pablo Zabaleta for conceding it and Gaël Clichy for being sent off as Manchester City lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the opening leg of the Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday evening.Two first-half goals from Luis Suárez mean Barcelona will be firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals when the second match is played on 18 March at Camp Nou. But there remains at least a glimmer of hope for City after Sergio Agüero reduced the deficit and Messi missed from the spot and headed the rebound wide of an open net.
Pellegrini was unhappy at his team’s play during the first half, criticising their inability to “put three passes together”. The manager said: “I think that we played two different games: the first half and the second. Until the first goal it was a very normal game and after that we concede an easy goal and played very bad until the first half finished. In the second half I think we played well, we scored one goal and had two or three more chances to draw.”
Clichy’s 74th-minute red card made it a third City sending-off in three matches in the competition against Barcelona. When facing them at the same stage last year Martín Demichelis received a red card and gave away a penalty in the first leg, which Messi scored, before Zabalata was sent off in the return match.
Of Clichy’s dismissal and Zabaleta’s concession of the spot-kick for a foul on Messi, Pellegrini said: “We repeat the same mistake as last year – one player sent off. It is very difficult to play against Barcelona with 10. We cannot have a player sent off every game against Barcelona.
“We finished with the penalty Joe saved very well. It was a very important save. Of course it gives us more chance to try to win in Barcelona; 3-1 [would have been] a very difficult score to try and erase. It was a very unnecessary penalty.”
Hart, asked what was going through his head as Messi took the penalty, said: “Save it – it keeps us in the tie. It’s definitely not impossible. It will be tough, we can’t kid ourselves, but we will go there with belief and in the second half we had to take what we did - now we can use that.”
By the break City were trailing 2-0 to Suárez strikes on 16 and 30 minutes and looked in danger of suffering a resounding defeat. However a better second half display had Agüero pulling a goal back on 69 minutes.
Neymar, who was replaced on 80 minutes, was involved in a running argument with a City fan, the pair’s verbal occurring in Portuguese.
Of City’s showing in the opening 45 minutes Pellegrini said: “We couldn’t put three passes together in the first half. There was a bit of confusion. We committed a very soft error for the first goal. We managed to be calmer in the second we pressed well and did well to hang on and almost get something from the game. It is not the best result here at home. We are going to play in Barcelona and try and do it the way we normally play. We have a chance. We must try to do it there in the next game.”
Despite City being overrun before the break Pellegrini defended his selection that featured two strikers, Edin Dzeko partnering Agüero. “I am very happy,” he said. “It was the way we must played against Barcelona. We demonstrate that in the second half. Barcelona will always dominate in some parts of the pitch. We demonstrated it was the way we must play from the first minute.”
Despite Barcelona’s dazzling first-half display Luis Enrique denied this was his side’s best 45 minutes of the season. “No. I don’t think so,” the coach said.
“We have played some good games throughout this season. A very good first half considering the quality of the team we were up against but we have played at this standard or better throughout this season.”
By Jamie Jackson, Guardian
