MANCHESTER, England -- The agony the Champions League annually brings to Manchester City was only partly eased by the sight of Lionel Messi having his injury-time penalty saved by Joe Hart and his header of the rebound sliding by the post.

There were smiles among those home fans who had stayed behind. A moment of levity, perhaps even a glimmer of a chance for the second leg, but not one to disguise that at this level, in this competition, City again look short of the quality required to progress...

For seven consecutive seasons, Barcelona have reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League while Manchester City have never reached that stage in their history, and Tuesday's 2-1 Barca win means it is unlikely those trends will be bucked after the second leg in Camp Nou.

However, Barca will kick themselves that the gap is not wider, with a last-minute penalty conversion by Lionel Messi would have left it safer for the Blaugrana, who had only 10 men to face in the final 17 minutes after...

MANCHESTER, England -- Three quick thoughts on Barcelona's 2-1 win over Manchester City in Tuesday night's Champions League round of 16 first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

1. Barcelona exude supremacy

It was a night when Barcelona touched their best, but Manchester City never looked so far away. The gap between these teams seemed so much more distant than the Catalans' 2-1 winning margin, and it's hard not to think the tie is over.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini got his tactics badly wrong, and City will...