Man City 1-2 BarcelonaManchester City simply had no answer to the brilliance of Barcelona in the first half who left the Etihad Stadium with a 2-1 victory but a late Joe Hart penalty save gives the home side some hope for the return leg. Barcelona lost for the first time at the weekend after 11 successive victories whilst Manchester City eased to three points over Newcastle but those results bore no relation to the game tonight.
Barcelona knocked the ball around with confidence and swagger leaving the hosts struggling to keep pace with them. At times it was like a practise game with the Spaniards playing keep-ball and City not helping their cause by gifting possession too easily and looking slow compared to their opponents.
Their may have been a touch of fortune with the Catalan's opener as the ball bounced kindly off the back of Vincent Kompany, but Suarez reacted quickly with a clinical finish.
Keeper Joe Hart denied the scorer moments later but Suarez was not to be denied and quickly doubled the visitor's advantage by sliding in to connect with Jordi Alba's low cross.
Then just before the break another defensive lapse by City allowed Daniel Alves to race clear and chip the ball onto the top of the crossbar. The home side responded with their first meaningful shot on target as Samir Nasri's effort was comfortably saved.
City began the second half much improved, increasing the tempo and creating a flurry of chances. Sergio Aguero, Nasri and Edin Dzeko all had opportunities, the latter having a free header which was put well wide.
But City finally made their dominance pay on 69 minutes as Aguero seized on a loose ball to put the home side back into the game.
Yet any chance of a fightback disappeared with 15 minutes remaining as Gael Clichy received a second yellow for a clumsy tackle on Alves and the German referee produced red.
It was now a case of damage limitation for the second leg at the Nou Camp for a one goal deficit would be a slight lifeline for Manuel Pellegrini's team and certainly Barcelona looked content to play out the game rather than take advantage of their one man advantage and risk being caught on the break.
Then in injury time Lionel Messi was brought down by Pablo Zabeleta but from the resulting penalty the victim's shot was saved by Hart and the Argentinean also failed to convert the rebound.
City will look back on an ineffective first 45 minutes, a resurgence after the break which brought them a goal goal, but a red card that handed the advantage back to Barcelona followed by conceding a late penalty which Hart saved.
