With Barcelona losing 1-0 to a relegation threatened side over the weekend, Manchester City has to like its chances on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou. Turning around a 2-0 score line in Barcelona’s public shrine to the sport is an immensely difficult task for the visitors, but that is the minimal result City requires in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Even with quality like Sergio Aguero returning to Manchester City’s squad for the second leg, the Blues’ greatest strength for Wednesday’s match derives from a player who will be suspended: Martin Demichelis.
No coincidence, all three of Manchester City’s losses in the calendar year featured Demichelis in the starting 11. In City’s most important matches in the business half of the campaign, Demichelis caved when the pressure heightened. Manchester City’s only three losses in 2014 may potentially have all hit vital arteries and bled out the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
First, in an immensely critical league match against Chelsea–the current Premier League leaders–Demichelis played in the midfield with Javi Garcia and Fernandinho unavailable due to injuries. In that match, Chelsea overran the middle of the park and handed City a shock defeat at the Etihad Stadium–its first home defeat of the domestic campaign.
That blow may ultimately be the difference in a neck-and-neck Premier League title race.
Next, Demichelis broke the deadlock in City’s home leg against Barcelona by giving away a penalty and getting sent off. Lionel Messi may have been outside the box when the foul occurred, but the tackle was foolish, and the card was sure to be red. Up to that point in the match, City had played well and matched Barcelona’s intensity. One goal either way would not have ended the match or jeopardized the tie, but the red card changed all that.
Messi converted from the spot, and City played the bulk of the second half down to 10 men. The hosts did incredibly well to deny Barcelona the all-important second goal until the 90th minute, when Dani Alves’ strike sunk the Citizens.
If City crashes out of the Champions League on Wednesday, how can the decision to start Demichelis over Joleon Lescott not be highlighted?
City’s third loss of 2014 occurred on Sunday against Wigan Athletic in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini again turned to the slow Argentine defender in an attempt to rest Kompany ahead of the second leg in Barcelona. To open the scoring, Demichelis gifted Wigan a penalty by committing a clumsy challenge inside the box.
Again, City trailed 1-0, and again, Demichelis was to blame. This time, however, the Argentine did not see a red card. Instead, he was a member of the Blues’ defense that was caught napping as James Perch arrived at the back post to put Wigan up by two goals to nil.
Demichelis, luckily, caused no further harm on Sunday, but ultimately, his errors had already been too grave.
City offered the proper response for the remainder of the cup match. Samir Nasri, in particular, began to take control of the play, creating a flurry of chances that could and should have been converted. Nasri had freshly returned from a knee injury prior to the first leg and came on as a substitute. On Wednesday, however, Nasri is in-form and sure to start.
Credit to Wigan for surviving the late onslaught, but Manchester City exited the FA Cup due to Demichelis’ vital error and a flurry of missed chances by Aguero and Eden Dzeko. Dzeko missed a series of chances by the narrowest of margins and even struck the post at one point.
Man City’s forwards would be expected to convert Sunday’s missed chances on Wednesday against Barcelona, so the play in the final half hour still offered encouragement even if the final result did not.
Further, Manchester City can view Barcelona’s loss to Real Valladolid on Saturday as a source of hope. In that match, Barcelona never gained its rhythm and played dreadfully poor from start to finish. The final 1-0 result was appropriate, as Valladolid played an organized match and caught Barcelona’s defense sleeping.
After scoring a hat-trick and playing 90 minutes for Brazil on Wednesday in South Africa, Neymar started on Saturday. He performed poorly for 73 minutes, and the Brazilian was not alone in his dull display. The entire Barcelona squad lacked teeth and bite. Whether that performance was due to a hangover from the international break remains to be seen, but Manchester City can gain confidence knowing that Barcelona is not at the top of its game.
With two goals required, City should play an attacking game that promises excitement from the opening whistle. With Demichelis not around to shoot his team in the foot, Manchester City’s class should give the Citizens a chance in Spain. At the very least, the Blues can take solace in knowing the player that sabotaged the season and was at fault in at least two of their last three defeats is banned from taking part in Barcelona.
No disguising it, Demichelis’ suspension for Wednesday’s second leg is a blessing for the Blues.
