Manchester City produced arguably their best ever European performance to brush aside Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
A brace from Ilkay Gundogan and a fantastic free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Lionel Messi’s opener for the visitors, giving City their first win over the Spanish champions in six attempts.
It means that Pep Guardiola’s men consolidate second place in Group C and, with Borussia Monchengladbach held at home by Celtic last night, it means that the Manchester club will qualify for the last 16 with victory over the German side in three weeks’ time.
Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.
Guardiola’s team produced a performance that has been lacking from City in the Champions League in recent seasons, with De Bruyne, Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, and Sergio Aguero specifically singled out for praise on a wonderful evening in Manchester.
Unsurprisingly, City’s win sparked jubilant celebrations around the Etihad and indeed on social media, where many fans shared their delight on what was a potentially season-defining evening in Manchester…
https://twitter.com/BlueMoonWoolfie/status/793738785720786944
Great team effort ,a joy to watch. Elated!!!!. What a performance , what a class result. Cityeèeeee! !!!! #ManCity
— Jean Tomlinson (@BeanietJean) November 1, 2016
Obviously, manager Guardiola has received a lot of praise for yesterday’s display, having transformed a side who were winless in six to overcome one of the best teams in world football…
https://twitter.com/TheDoublePivots/status/793715715014586368
https://twitter.com/JNBellay/status/793592314249740289
https://twitter.com/gaurav25_04/status/793567990197415937
Despite an excellent team display, many fans also singled out individual City players for their efforts, with Aguero, Gundogan, De Bruyne, and Sterling all receiving deserved credit on social media…
Aguero ran his socks off. What a performance
— EUROPEAN CHAMPS MCFC (@DaliBallz) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/UnrealDybala/status/793738020939792384
You wonder now if @BVB regret letting go Gundogan for 20 million. Guardiola getting the best out of him @premierleague @ChampionsLeague
— Andrew (@andrewsnitch) November 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/onksmatojane24/status/793578423222431746