Goals: Manchester City—Aguero 70’; Barcelona—Suarez 16’, 30’
Recap: Ninety minutes of inspired football saw Barcelona defeat Manchester City 2-1 on Tuesday.
The ever-present Luis Suarez continued his dominance of English football, pouncing on a mistimed clearance in the 16th minute. The Uruguayan international would double Barcelona’s lead just 14 minutes later. This time, iconic build-up provided Suarez his opportunity. He left zero doubts with his finish. Aguero responded in the second half, but it proved to be of no consequence.
Barcelona return home for the second leg with a 2-1 aggregate lead.
Key Moment: Of the four men inside or near the six-yard box, did not one think to mark one of the world’s most potent strikers?
Man of the Match: Suarez created his own opportunity to open the affair. He benefited from comprehensive build-up to put away his second. But the fact remains: It was his lethal right foot that buried Manchester City’s Champions League dreams.
Lesson Learned: Vincent Kompany has lost a step...or seven. The 28-year-old broke the cardinal sin of defending inside the 18-yard box, leaving Suarez unmarked before Jordi Alba delivered an inch-perfect cross. Kompany’s regression is apparent in the data as well. In 18 appearances this season, the Belgian international is winning just 45 percent of his 1v1 duels and averaging seven defensive actions. Compare that to last year when Kompany was averaging one better and winning more than 55 percent of his duels. On Tuesday, the world took notice of his downward trajectory and City’s predictable demise in the UEFA Champions League.
Up Next: Barcelona travel to Granada on Feb. 28, while Manchester City visit Liverpool on March 1.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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