It is fair to say that Martin Demichelis did not exactly answer his critics on Tuesday night. Nor did he silence the doubters, or confound those who questioned his inclusion in the biggest match of Manchester City’s season.
No, Demichelis eschewed the usual cliches of sporting redemption and played it straight. He gave away the penalty that cost his team the game, and was sent off.
The best that can then be said is that this allowed a large number of people to feel good about their understanding of football, and attendant powers of pre-cognition. What they feared would happen, what they said would happen, had happened.
Demichelis had been left one on one with Lionel Messi, and it had ended badly.
It wasn’t the most left-field prediction, obviously. Clinton Baptiste, the psychic from Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights, could probably have seen this one coming.
The opener: Messi wheels away in celebration of the first goal as Joe Hart vents his frustration
Fine lines: The argument as to whether the contact was inside or outside the area will run for days
No more criticism: The goal was Messi's first goal at a Premier League ground
Down and out: Demichelis, who has been City's stand-in centre half this season, trudges off the pitch
Disappointing: Alves slips the ball between Hart's legs for 2-0 with just a minute remaining in the first-leg
Sucker punch: City look dejected as City take a 2-0 lead going into the second-leg next month
Fine lines: The argument as to whether the contact was inside or outside the area will run for days
No more criticism: The goal was Messi's first goal at a Premier League ground
Down and out: Demichelis, who has been City's stand-in centre half this season, trudges off the pitch
Disappointing: Alves slips the ball between Hart's legs for 2-0 with just a minute remaining in the first-leg
Sucker punch: City look dejected as City take a 2-0 lead going into the second-leg next month
Match facts
Man City: Hart 6, Zabaleta 6, Kompany 7, Demichelis 5, Clichy 6, Jesus Navas 6 (Nasri 57, 6), Fernandinho 6, Toure 5, Kolarov 6 (Lescott 57, 6), Silva 7, Negredo 6 (Dzeko 74, 6).
Subs Not Used: Pantilimon, Richards, Javi Garcia, Jovetic.
Manuel Pellegrini - 5
Sent Off: Demichelis (53).
Booked: Negredo, Kolarov.
Barcelona: Valdes 6, Dani Alves 7, Pique 6, Mascherano 6, Jordi Alba 6, Xavi 8, Busquets 7, Fabregas 7 (Sergi Roberto 86), Alexis 6 (Neymar 73, 7), Messi 7, Iniesta 7.
Subs Not Used: Pinto, Pedro, Bartra, Song, Adriano.
Gerardo Martino - 7
Booked: Dani Alves, Mascherano.
Goals: Messi 54 pen, Dani Alves 90.
Att: 47,726
Ref: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden).
*Ratings by Chris Wheeler at the Etihad Stadium
‘The spirits are very strong tonight,’ he tells the audience. ‘Is there anyone in called... John?’
Picking Demichelis was not exactly a populist decision by Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. Many had not forgotten his performance against Chelsea earlier this month — although he was left badly isolated by his team-mates on that occasion — and feared the worst.
It is not even as if his record against Barcelona for his previous club Malaga afforded confidence. Demichelis played in that fixture on four occasions, losing 3-1, 4-1, 4-1 and 4-1.
The last time Messi failed to score against him was on January 16, 2011. The three previous meetings before this had yielded seven goals for the Barcelona man.
Pellegrini, who worked with Demichelis at Malaga, must have seen something worth applying, although quite what it is hard to say.
It wasn’t even a selection that could be defended with Demichelis’s form over course and distance.
So when in the 54th minute Messi finally got Demichelis alone, there was a dreadful sense of inevitability. Referee Jonas Eriksson did not have his finest evening overall but he called the big one right.
City still cried foul about the build-up to the goal, but it was hard to build a convincing case.
Doubled: Dani Alves celebrates after scoring Barcelona's second goal in the dying moments
And after all that: Messi embraces Toure after the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium
One up: Messi slots the penalty down the middle of the goal in front of the travelling Barca fans
Not even close: Hart knows he's dived the wrong way as Messi handed Barca the lead in controversial fashion
Marching orders: Demichelis has kept mistakes to a minimum before his sending off on 53 minutes
Here you go: Hart hands Messi the ball before the penalty, but he couldn't get a hand to the spot kick
And after all that: Messi embraces Toure after the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium
One up: Messi slots the penalty down the middle of the goal in front of the travelling Barca fans
Not even close: Hart knows he's dived the wrong way as Messi handed Barca the lead in controversial fashion
Marching orders: Demichelis has kept mistakes to a minimum before his sending off on 53 minutes
Here you go: Hart hands Messi the ball before the penalty, but he couldn't get a hand to the spot kick
The statistics show how Barcelona unsurprisingly dominated possession at the Etihad
MESSI'S 'DROUGHT' OVER
Lionel Messi scored his first goal at a Premier League ground in 771 minutes of football - that's nearly 13 hours.
There was a claim for an unfair challenge against Jesus Navas by Sergio Busquets, but the Manchester City man seemed to make the most of it, and another complaint that Demichelis initially hit Messi outside the area, but his tackle continued inside, making it a penalty.
What is indisputable, however, is that Andres Iniesta played a quite superb through-ball, that from it Messi got the jump on Demichelis and that the resulting foul merited a dismissal.
The rest was a formality. Messi struck his penalty straight, Joe Hart dived expecting something a little special, and City were undone.
All together: Team-mates Fabregas and Iniesta rush over to Messi to celebrate the opening goal
Marginal: Demichelis brings Messi down, and the referee believed the contact was inside the area
Midfield duel: Fabregas is brought down by Yaya Toure, with the pair battling for most of the game
Uphill task: Barcelona now take a healthy advantage going into the second-leg at the Nou Camp
Barcelona simply looked more at home at this level of European competition, never troubled once they got in front, composed on the ball, and a cut above when it mattered. Even so, City were in the game until the second went in.
Had they travelled to Nou Camp trailing 1-0, a single goal would have turned the narrative on its head; Dani Alves’s second with four minutes remaining changed the balance of power, perhaps beyond City’s powers of recovery.
Barcelona have not conceded more than a solitary goal at home this season and City need two to force extra time.
Get across him: Kompany attempts to sound out Messi, which City did to some success in the first-half
Our ball! Players from both sides desperately appeal to the referee during a nervy first 45 minutes
Little openings: Lionel Messi's free-kick from 25 yards hit the side of the City wall
One could almost hear the air go out of City’s balloon when the second went in. Neymar outstripped Gael Clichy and found Alves, Joleon Lescott slipped at a vital time, and the full back put his finish through Hart’s legs.
Even with Sergio Aguero available, the thought of a comeback is fanciful. If City progress from here the second leg of this tie will have its own name, the Miracle of the Nou Camp. Although there is a precedent for Manchester clubs performing wonders at that place.
Could it have been different? City had their moments. David Silva struck a volley that could not beat Victor Valdes, and Edin Dzeko seemed harshly penalised for the slightest contact with Gerard Pique having got the ball in the net, but that is what happens against Barcelona.
At the angle: Negredo went close for City in half of limited chances, with Barca seeing much more of the ball
Full-blooded: Alvaro Negredo tackles former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano
Holding off: Fabregas is shepherded by City midfielder Yaya Toure, playing against his former employers
Behind one goal hung a giant banner summing up the feelings of many: T’estimo, it read — Catalan for ‘I love you’ — but it is not just the locals who are bewitched by their team.
Neutrals are infatuated, too, particularly referees, and Eriksson was no different to most. Blowing up every time Valdes made a poor, flailing attempt to claim the ball was one indication; the odd soft free-kick the other.
Barcelona’s game can be so mesmerising, so damn pretty at times, that it is hard to believe that they get tackled or lose control like mere mortals. Far easier to blame the brute of an opposing player for hassling, applying pressure and spoiling the ballet.
Back then: City note their progress since the 1999 Division Two Play Off final against Gillingham
Tussle: Barcelona's Victor Valdes is tumbled over in the air by Yaya Toure in the first-half
Fouled: Valdes eventually recovered the fumbled ball and was awarded a free-kick for his troubles
Searched: Cesc Fabregas attempts to get into the the opposing penalty area but is surrounded by City men
Not that Eriksson was to blame for this defeat. City found it close to impossible to get or retain the ball at times, enjoyed just 32 per cent of possession and completed 323 passes to Barcelona’s 728.
It did not help that, early on, they seemed to have only one mode of counter-attack, the long ball, lumped up to Alvaro Negredo with scant concern for accuracy.
Unsurprisingly, it kept coming back, one misguided pass returned as 30 little ones, like a bag of change from a £50 note, tip-tip-tip-tip as Barcelona advanced on goal in a way that remains unique no matter how many teams and coaches claim to be under its influence.
Back up north: Former Man United defender Gerard Pique climbs above Alvaro Negredo to head away
Early challenge: Andres Iniesta slips past City defender Pablo Zabaleta early on in the first half at the Etihad
Yet what did it produce? Not a huge amount really. It wasn’t the best of games, to be frank. Barcelona’s possession on occasions lacked purpose;
City’s hustled but without tempo, failing to make the inroads demanded by home advantage. So the best team won, even if the quantity of Barcelona chances did not reflect the quality of their play.
February has not proved the best month for Pellegrini. He has played two key games, at home, against significant opposition, and lost both without scoring.
Still, at least Demichelis cannot be part of his plans for the return leg. Every cloud, and all that.
ETIHAD STADIUM MATCH ZONE BY CHRIS WHEELER
Manuel’s barca blues continue
Tuesday night's defeat was a continuation of Manuel Pellegrini’s less than stellar record against Barcelona.
In 22 games before last night, the Chilean had just four wins with four draws and 14 defeats, scoring 27 goals and conceding 49. In fairness to Pellegrini, most of those games came when he was manager of underdogs Villarreal and Malaga, but he also lost both Clasicos during his one season in charge of Real Madrid.
Those were the days...
This might have been the first competitive meeting between these two clubs, but Barcelona have played here before — in the inaugural game at what was then the plain old City of Manchester Stadium in August 2003.
City won 2-1 with goals from Nicolas Anelka (below) and Trevor Sinclair.
What Pellegrini and his players would have given for a repeat scoreline on Tuesday night
Manchester City were greeted like heroes at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night (below).
Manuel Pellegrini and his players got off the team bus to the strains of the Oasis hit Morning Glory as a PA announcer introduced them one by one to huge cheers from a crowd outside the stadium entrance.
After their 2-0 defeat, the City players might well be feeling a little less glorious this morning.
Sliding in: Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas attempts to nip the ball past Demichelis (left) and Kompany (centre)
Characters: Man City's mascots Moonchester and Moonbeam pose for photos with Barcelona fans
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