City played like a small club with a small mentality

BARCELONA. — ‘Lionel Messi picked Barcelona up from the canvas’, according to yesterday morning’s headline in MARCA, but AS feel that Manchester City only have themselves to blame for their Champions League exit. AS, in fact, don’t go easy on Manuel Pellegrini’s side, Santi Giménez accuses them of “playing like a small club, with no thoughts of greatness” as they crashed out 4-1 on aggregate having lost 2-1 on the night.

“Far from going for Barça, taking into account they had everything to do after the result in the first leg, Pellegrini’s side came out to hold on to the result, in a lamentable show,” Giménez writes.

“It didn’t work out too badly for them either, as the French referee ignored a clear penalty by Lescott on Messi and ruled out a Neymar goal for offside in the build up. Without those two mistakes the game would have been over in the first half, but not even with the referee’s help did City have enough to frighten the Camp Nou. And this is a ground where fear takes hold faster than the flu.”

Barca’s performance over the two legs would not have made “people fall in love with them”, according to Giménez but was under-pressure coach Gerardo Martino, or ‘Tata’s’ best games of his short tenure.

MARCA were less punishing towards City and instead welcome the return to form of Messi.

‘Messi gets back on track… and tracks back’, is the headline on one piece which lauds the fact the Argentine was not only on the scoresheet, he also provided the “most notable defensive contribution of the night” when he sprinted flat out to prevent compatriot Sergio Aguero bearing down on Víctor Valdés’ goal.

Aguero, though, does come in for a bit of criticism in the Spanish media with MARCA claiming the City striker’s performance to be “the biggest disappointment of the night”. It adds “Agüero was virtually anonymous on his return from the injury that kept him out of the first leg”.

Finally, Mundo Deportivo, adds that Barcelona’s season is very much “alive and kicking” after Javier Mascherano hit out at the club’s critics in the build up to the second leg, saying “wait for us to be dying before you kill us”.

Francesc Aguilar writes of the performances of “two genuises” in Messi and Andres Iniesta as Barcelona stay in the hunt for three trophies this year.

Crisis, what crisis? — Telegraph.