Barcelona continued where they left off against Celtic as the Catalans breezed easily past Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, winning 4-0 at Camp Nou. A close affair in the first half was marred by a host of individual errors which concluded with such a comprehensive scoreline.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute but Guardiola's men had the majority of the ball in the first half.
Claudio Bravo had a moment of madness in the second half and was rightly sent off, which opened the floodgates for the Catalans. Messi doubled his tally with a brilliant drive from the edge of the box. Another defensive error enabled Messi to complete yet another Champions League hat-trick. Neymar made amends to score the fourth goal, as he had missed a penalty just moments earlier.
Jeremy Mathieu, who replaced the injured Pique in the first half, received the marching orders for Barcelona after receiving two bookings in the space of five minutes. Let's take a look at the player ratings from the game at Nou Camp that had everything from goals, red cards, penalties yet not a Manchester City goal
FC Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 7
The Barcelona goalkeeper was ready when he was called into service and made some quick 1-2 saves in the 90 minutes. He proved today why Guardiola wanted him first ahead of Bravo this summer.
Javier Mascherano: 6
The Argentine played as a right back tonight to cover for Sergi Roberto and had a decent outing as he managed City's threat from the wings brilliantly and played in this new position to him with utmost ease.
Gerard Pique: 5
Pique was injured in the first half hour and had to be replaced immediately by Jeremy Mathieu. A challenge by David Silva ended the game for the centre back.
Samuel Umtiti: 7
The new French signing made his Champions League debut and never looked out of sorts. He was the best defender on the pitch and was an aerial threat to City as he came close to scoring in one of the set pieces.
Jordi Alba: 4
Alba too had to be subbed after he suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and was easily beaten by Raheem Sterling on two occasions in his short 15 minutes spell on the left back slot.
Sergio Busquets: 7
Another industrious display by the Spanish defensive midfielder, Busquets shielded his defence to perfection and had the most number of interceptions in the game and broke many of City's attacks.
Ivan Rakitic: 7
The Croatian had a brilliant game as he dictated the tempo of the game, while the City midfielders gave him far too much space to operate. Rakitic also gave one of the passes of the game late in the second half which Neymar missed on a one-on-one situation.
Andres Iniesta: 7
Another masterclass by the Barcelona legend, Iniesta hardly put a foot wrong in the entire game and also provided an assist for Lionel Messi’s second goal.
Luis Suarez: 7
Suarez showed immense work rate as he stretched City's defence throughout the game and asked many questions. He was a constant threat to the City's back line but failed to test Bravo and then Caballero.
Neymar: 8
The Brazilian lined up for his 150th appearance for Barcelona and he didn't disappoint. He took on City's full-backs at will and beat them on a number of occasions. He missed yet another penalty but made up for it after scoring a delightful goal just minutes after.
Lionel Messi: 9
It was not even one of his best performances of late, yet the Argentine magician scored three goals against one of the best sides in Europe this season. Messi is proving his greatness with each passing season and his second goal was a treat for the supporters as he got the better of the opposition's defenders easily on the night.
Substitutions
Lucas Digne: 6
Digne, another new signing, had to be brought on earlier than expected after Alba's sudden injury, but never looked out of sorts and had a decent game.
Jeremy Mathieu: 4
The experienced defender had played brilliantly until the 70th minute but astonishingly lost his way as he received two yellow cards in quick succession.
Andre Gomes: NA
Gomes played just over 10 minutes and had far less time to influence the midfield in any way.
Manchester City
Claudio Bravo: 4
The Manchester City goalkeeper lost possession on many occasions. His attempt to be a little too smart cost City the game as he received a straight red for handling the ball outside the box.
Pablo Zabaleta: 5
The Argentine has been a loyal servant for City but his time at the club may be ending soon if he puts in another performance like he did against Barcelona. The City captain on the night was very vocal but was done by Barcelona's pace and was beaten far too easily.
John Stones: 5
City's defence made a host of errors which led to the hosts scoring 4 goals and Stones too made a number of mistakes. But he had a glorious chance to reduce the deficit but missed from close range.
Nicolas Otamendi: 6
Otamendi showed great courage, made some good blocks and was tidy in possession. He was tipped to not have a future at City, but under Guardiola, he is proving his critics wrong with each passing game.
Aleksandar Kolarov: 5
The full-back contributed offensively but failed to do his defensive work. He too was easily beaten and City must address the full-back issue soon, especially against quality teams.
Fernandinho: 5
The Brazilian started the game brightly and had a decent first half. He slipped at a crucial juncture, enabling Messi to beat him and score past the keeper with ease.
Ilkay Gundogan: 6
The German showed immense work rate and his passing was top notch at the time. He had the best chance for Manchester City and Ter Stegen had to make a fine save to keep his effort out.
David Silva: 6
Silva showed some quick movement and also produced some sharp passing but failed to make the final pass. He was booked for a foul on Gerard Pique which saw the defender subbed off with an apparent injury.
Raheem Sterling: 6
Sterling worked the hardest for City and most of City's attacks came through the pacy winger. He posed many problems for Barcelona's defence but should have done well in the final third.
Nolito: 5
He was entrusted to make the most of the possession but did absolutely the opposite as he lost the ball far too many times. and later was not to be seen anywhere where it mattered.
Kevin de Bruyne: 6
Guardiola opted to play him as a false nine but he was not able to do justice. He made some fine runs but was incapable of posing any problems for Barcelona's back line.
Substitutions
Willy Caballero: 6
The substitute keeper made some decent saves but his defenders let him down after making a number of silly errors which led to goals.
Gael Clichy: 5
He replaced Zabaleta and brought some pace to City's defence. He started decently but was then beaten far too easily at times by Lionel Messi.
Sergio Aguero: NA
A surprise exclusion from the starting lineup, the Argentinian got to play just the last 10 minutes of the match and failed to have a single chance to test Ter Stegen.
