Argentinian scores to give Barcelona the lead but apart from that Pep Guardiola’s side keep him under control and give their forwards the chance to shinePep Guardiola said it himself. Barcelona did not have to win this match. Manchester City did, or at least try to take something from it. But Barcelona had Lionel Messi, the one player in the world who seems capable of winning any Champions League match.No one needs to explain anything about Messi to anyone at City after all the previous meetings and the events at the Camp Nou, and though his appearance has changed considerably since the first glimpse in this country 10 years ago prompted Richard Williams of this parish to describe him as...
Facing his first wobble in England, the City manager arrives back in Barcelona denying he has been caught out by the intensity of the Premier LeagueAfter three games without a win Manchester City find themselves in the awkward position of trying to end a disappointing sequence in Barcelona. Ever since the draw was made Pep Guardiola’s homecoming has been the standout attraction of the Champions League group stage but City supporters must be wondering which of his sides is going to turn up. The one that opened the season with 10 straight wins or the one more recently held by Celtic and Everton, with a comprehensive beating at Tottenham in between.The great thing about Barcelona, as Guardiola not only knows...
The podders look back on the weekend in the Premier League and preview all the big Champions League ties, including Manchester City’s trip to Barcelona. Plus: Mauro Icardi’s own goal, and plastic pigs stop play at CharltonSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastOn today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by Iain Macintosh, Gregg Bakowski and Paolo Bandini to gander over an entertaining weekend in the Premier League and gaze ahead to some crackers in the Champions League. Continue reading...
The Spurs forward scored important goals and brought commercial clout to the Bundesliga side, but the manner of his exit may mean he is not treated as a homecoming heroSon Heung-min is remembered at Bayer Leverkusen as an authentic global star; a player who scored important goals and fired Champions League qualifications and one who brought additional clout on the commercial front. Unfortunately for Son, who returns to his former club with Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the manner of his departure remains fresh in the memory, too.Son began last season as a Leverkusen player, having started in the Bundesliga opener at home to Hoffenheim and the first leg of the Champions League play off away...
The manager has Barcelona in the blood but, as he prepares to meet them in the Champions League, the club’s rich history informs his plans for City“It’s not what we wanted,” Txiki Begiristain admitted. Manchester City’s director of football was in Zurich for the Champions League draw, where he could not get a reception on his phone. There was no way of telling his manager the news: “Pep, we’re going back.” But by the time he realised, Guardiola was surely already aware and he probably always suspected as much anyway. On the morning of the draw back in Catalonia some of those closest to him had already predicted this; it was, they had said, inevitable.This is nothing new, for Begiristain...