"It all happened so quick," Sergio Busquets says. He started the 2008-09 season at the municipal stadium in Santa Eulalia (Capacity: 1,500). He ended it at the Estadio Olimpico in Rome (Capacity: 70,600). From Spain's regionalised third division, comprised of almost 350 teams spread over seventeen groups, to the Champions League final in nine months. A European champion aged just 20, a year later he was a World Champion with Spain.

Even the pitches had small in tercera, let alone the stands, now...

Sergio Busquets put his signature to an improved contract extension on Friday that will keep him at Barcelona until 2019, and that is good news for a club that wants to return to winning trophies after drawing an unusual blank last season. Busquets proved again on Tuesday at Manchester City that he is a player for the big occasion; he will likely be involved again at Granada on Saturday as Barca attempt to return to winning ways in La Liga after last week's shock home defeat to Malaga.

Still...

Barcelona's valuable 2-1 away against Manchester City was proof that they have what it takes to go all the way in this season's Champions League if fully focused on the task in hand. Reassuringly, the Blaugranas looked like a completely different team from the one that struggled to break Malaga's back-line and walked away with a deserved 1-0 home defeat in their last La Liga game.

While the return of Javier Mascherano and Ivan Rakitic to Luis Enrique's starting 11 brought back much-needed muscle,...

MANCHESTER, England -- For weeks he's been providing the service. On Tuesday, he suddenly provided the goals.

He arrived as the guy with the bad reputation, banned for another bite, following a previous suspension for racial abuse.

But Luis Suarez has been playing at Barcelona not only as if, just as he promised, it's been his personal ambition to do so for years and years but also as if he's a fan of the club.

Manchester City

Barcelona

1

2

FT

Leg 1

Game Details

Highlights

• GameCast
• Lineups and Stats

He's brought blood, sweat and tears, albeit fewer goals than most believed was his initial...

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...