Had a bit of time after last night to think and assess the game, I thought we played exceptionally well given the type of players we were playing against, the first half was a monumental example of a defensively disciplined effort in stifling their chances and also their best player. Considering the amount of possession they had they had one chance in the first half and that was a Xavi long range shot which was pretty comfortable for Joe. I feel it all went wrong when we got more involved in the game and once it opened up a little, the second we started to have chances we started pushing up and then the discipline at the back went just for a second and that was the difference for the penalty.
That lapse at the back for a millisecond to allow Iniesta to thread that ball through is what cost us and at this level it's what can cost you the tie. It is arguable that the error was completely down to us expecting the foul on Navas to be given and losing it a bit but really at this level you have to be on your game for 90 minutes and that is why they keep the ball to try and force us into making mistakes. Other than that though I thought we were very comfortable in terms of keeping it at 0-0, whether we would go on and score though in hindsight I don't know. You cannot falt the defence though because I don't think anyone put a foot wrong apart from that millisecond which let Messi go through.
After the sending off I think we came more into the game simply because we had to and we had a bit of possession and tried to get forward, we made quite a few chances but the finishing touch just wasn't there and again you talk about the difference between the sides and even with 10 men I thought we were in terms of trying to score the better team because they just relied on keeping the ball and waiting for that chance. I thought we shackled Messi very well and Kompany showed that he is WORLD class, he really is, I would not take a single centre back in the world over him and his performance summed up just how good he is on his game. There was a time when Clichy got down the left and into their box and squared it straight to their keeper which I think summed up the game for us, we just didn't have a cutting edge with the little amount of the ball we had and really their last goal was a result of just losing it towards the end of the game.
I think we played exceptionally well positionally and as a disciplined unit and the tactics were absolutely bang on in terms of selecting a team to deal with them. The game was never a formality for them, they just rather played with the illusion that they were dominating because of the possession they had but in terms of chances I think we have to see this as a chance lost because of being poor in the final third. We were by far the better team when it came to looking to score in the final third.
Other than that it was a monumental effort from the entire team to stay disciplined and deal with them, I don't agree with MP that the referee cost us the game but he certainly didn't allow us any leeway when it came to tackles we would get away with in the Premier League but it isn't really much of an excuse. The sending off was definitely a sending off but it wasn't a penalty and obviously there was a clear foul on Navas, that's the only thing I really think he got wrong. I still think we should of let Messi go through and if he scores, he scores but at least we start again with 11 men on the pitch. With 10 we were always going to struggle to get the ball enough to make chances, we still did but against Barcelona with 10 men you only really see enough of the ball to make 1 or 2 really good chances and we didn't even look close to taking them.
I think with Aguero back and with us having nothing to lose, we can definitely beat them at the Nou Camp but whether that will be enough to progress I don't know. If we can score 2 and bring it level then we have the advantage of a 3rd goal winning it because of the away goal but still it is going to take a truly special night over there to progress but I think we will still win.
That lapse at the back for a millisecond to allow Iniesta to thread that ball through is what cost us and at this level it's what can cost you the tie. It is arguable that the error was completely down to us expecting the foul on Navas to be given and losing it a bit but really at this level you have to be on your game for 90 minutes and that is why they keep the ball to try and force us into making mistakes. Other than that though I thought we were very comfortable in terms of keeping it at 0-0, whether we would go on and score though in hindsight I don't know. You cannot falt the defence though because I don't think anyone put a foot wrong apart from that millisecond which let Messi go through.
After the sending off I think we came more into the game simply because we had to and we had a bit of possession and tried to get forward, we made quite a few chances but the finishing touch just wasn't there and again you talk about the difference between the sides and even with 10 men I thought we were in terms of trying to score the better team because they just relied on keeping the ball and waiting for that chance. I thought we shackled Messi very well and Kompany showed that he is WORLD class, he really is, I would not take a single centre back in the world over him and his performance summed up just how good he is on his game. There was a time when Clichy got down the left and into their box and squared it straight to their keeper which I think summed up the game for us, we just didn't have a cutting edge with the little amount of the ball we had and really their last goal was a result of just losing it towards the end of the game.
I think we played exceptionally well positionally and as a disciplined unit and the tactics were absolutely bang on in terms of selecting a team to deal with them. The game was never a formality for them, they just rather played with the illusion that they were dominating because of the possession they had but in terms of chances I think we have to see this as a chance lost because of being poor in the final third. We were by far the better team when it came to looking to score in the final third.
Other than that it was a monumental effort from the entire team to stay disciplined and deal with them, I don't agree with MP that the referee cost us the game but he certainly didn't allow us any leeway when it came to tackles we would get away with in the Premier League but it isn't really much of an excuse. The sending off was definitely a sending off but it wasn't a penalty and obviously there was a clear foul on Navas, that's the only thing I really think he got wrong. I still think we should of let Messi go through and if he scores, he scores but at least we start again with 11 men on the pitch. With 10 we were always going to struggle to get the ball enough to make chances, we still did but against Barcelona with 10 men you only really see enough of the ball to make 1 or 2 really good chances and we didn't even look close to taking them.
I think with Aguero back and with us having nothing to lose, we can definitely beat them at the Nou Camp but whether that will be enough to progress I don't know. If we can score 2 and bring it level then we have the advantage of a 3rd goal winning it because of the away goal but still it is going to take a truly special night over there to progress but I think we will still win.