Visca Barca.. QF.. here we come !

Hey everyone,

What a thrilling game of Champion's League Soccer we've had at Comp Nou! A lot more thrilling than the final scoreline of 1-0 suggested. Barca must be really disappointed that the scoreline didn't show all that they deserved from this game and so am I. (since my prediction proved awfully wrong ;) ) The reason? Barca and Messi were thwarted time and again by Man City's goalkeeper Joe Hart who simply was having an incredible game. He deserved the Man of the Match award despite being on the losing side and that says it all about his unbelievable performance today. Nevertheless, it's Barca who were the dominant side and won both the legs of this match up to qualify for the Quaterfinals of this season's CL.

Credit should be given where it's due. Joe Hart and Leo Messi are the stand out players of the game. Messi did make his mark on this game. He was absolutely everywhere making his mazy runs and pulling the strings for Barca. He played in Ivan Rakitic with a glorious, inch-perfect pass that the latter finished with great composure. Messi's did everything in the game, the dribbles, an assist, the nutmegs, key passes; the only thing he couldn't do for the day was to be on the score sheet. And full credit to Joe Hart for the 10 saves that he made in that game that saved City from humiliation to say the least. 

While Man City were all over the park, Barca played well as a unit. Barca's defence was solid and so was their keeper, except for one moment of madness where he raced outside his box and left his goal at the mercy of Sergio Aguero. Ter Stegen, Barce's keeper, did atone for that mistake when he saved a penalty to deny Man City any kind of a look into this tie. The midfield worked with precision and supported the Barca's front-line really well. And, among the Barca front-line, Messi played his part and Suarez kept coming close all night. But Neymar is the one who needs to find his scoring boots soon. He had missed too many one-on-one chances against Hart which a player of his quality should score with his eyes closed and seemed off-color in his last few games as well. Barca really need their deadly trio to start firing together again to win silverware come the end of this season.  

But for now, it's a wait for the Champion's League QF draw to take place which will decide whom Barca is going to play in the next stage of this competition.

Thanks for reading & cheers! Do come back again! - yps05