Here’s what happened in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, in case you missed it…
The results
Watch match highlights: Manchester City 0, FC Barcelona 2 | Bayer Leverkusen 0, Paris Saint-Germain 4
Read match reports: Manchester City 0, FC Barcelona 2 | Bayer Leverkusen 0, Paris Saint-Germain 4
The day’s main talking points
1. Penalty call turning point for Barca: Barcelona dominated early on, enjoying the majority of possession and making City chase the game before their fans in the opening 20 minutes. But the English side slowly began to assert itself and gave Barcelona something to think about, with Alvaro Negredo using his strength around the box to cause a few problems for the Catalans. It looked like we had a tactical stalemate on our hands before the 53rd minute when Andres Iniesta launched a quick counter by threading a gorgeous pass to Lionel Messi, who was pulled down by Martin Demichelis. Demichelis was correctly red-carded for being the last man back and preventing a scoring chance. Replays showed that the original contact occurred outside the box, but Messi converted from the spot and City had it all to do. To their credit, the Blues attacked Barcelona to try to salvage a draw, instead of just trying to limit the damage. They even came close to levelling the score, but then the sucker-punch came late in the dying minutes with Dani Alves finishing off a flowing move down the right to give the Catalans a 2-0 win. Barcelona was made to work for this victory, and the final score line was cruel on City, to be sure. Still, it’s very difficult to see how the Blues will be able to earn the required result in the second leg in Spain to salvage the series.
2. Matuidi was PSG’s unsung hero: Most of the attention in the aftermath of PSG’s emphatic road win over Bayer Leverkusen will focus on Zlatan Ibrahimovic—and that’s understandable. The Swedish striker left an indelible mark on the contest, bagging two goals in a four-minute spell late in the first half to put the game out of the Germans’ reach. But it was the work of PSG’s unsung heroes, French midfielder Blaise Matuidi in particular, who played a pivotal role for the French champions. Matuidi is a tough tackling midfielder, noted for his combative play and skill in breaking up opponents’ attacks. He does, however, have an offensive streak about him that gets overlooked, as Leverkusen discovered to their peril. A mere three minutes into the game, Matuidi found the back of the net, latching onto a fabulous through ball from Marco Verratti inside the penalty area and stroking it home with aplomb. Not only was the finish of the highest class, but so was Matuidi’s run, timed to perfection to get on the end of Verratti’s pass. Then with PSG leading 2-0 late in the half, the French midfielder brilliantly kept possession inside the German penalty area, using his power and strength to hold off a Leverkusen defender who was draped all over him, before feeding a pass back to Ibrahimovic who belted it into the far corner. Matuidi put in a workmanlike shift on the day at both ends of the field, further underlining his importance to PSG.
3. And speaking of unsung heroes: Continuing the theme of unsung heroes, what about Javier Mascherano? Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored Barcelona’s goals, and Andres Iniesta pulled the strings. But it was Mascherano who was the Catalans’ best player on the night with his man-of-the-match performance. The Argentine battler, a midfielder by trade, continues to improve in his new role playing alongside Gerard Pique in the middle of Barcelona’s defence. He perfectly read the flow of the action, snuffing out danger before it developed, and routinely managed to get the better of Manchester City’s Negredo. His positioning was sound, and he displayed a genuine understanding with Pique as they combined to thwart the Blues’ dangerous attack at every turn. Mascherano’s lone mistake came when he picked up a yellow card inside the centre circle for an unnecessary foul in the 76th minute—it was the only time he put a wrong foot the entire match. Mascherano’s outstanding play in anchoring a defence that kept an offensively-explosive City off the score sheet provided Barcelona with the platform to earn a big win on English soil and all but secure their spot in the quarter-finals.
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Stat of the day
10 – Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored 10 goals in his last five Champions League games. Monster.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 18, 2014
Goal of the day
It has to be Ibrahimovic’s second of the day in the 42nd minute. After Matuidi did very well to hold up the ball inside the box, he fed a pass back to the Swede, who smashed a perfect shot from the edge of the penalty area into the far right corner. Brilliant!
Save of the day
Looking for an equalizer, Manchester City put together a flowing move in the 77th minute. Yaya Toure fired a terrific cross-field to Pablo Zabaleta, and his cushioned pass dropped perfectly for David Silva in the penalty area to smash a volley towards the goal. But Barcelona goalkeeper did extremely well to get down to his right make a diving stop.
Question of the day
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Tweet of the day
Martin Demichelis is suspended for the second leg after picking up a red card—not that that’s a bad thing for Manchester City…
The good news for City is that Demechelis misses second leg. #UCL
— Nick Sabetti (@nicksabetti) February 18, 2014
3 stars
1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic: With two goals in the span of four minutes, the “Super Swede” once again showed why he’s one of the biggest game-changers in the world.
2) Javier Mascherano: The Argentine centre-back was in excellent form for Barcelona, anchoring a back line that negated the dangerous Negredo.
3) Blaise Matuidi: The Frenchman scored the opener with a great finish and then did all the hard work to set up Ibrahimovic’s second goal.
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