LIGI YA MABINGWA ULAYA : FC BARCELONA WAICHAPA MAN CITY NA KUTUPWA NJE

Jubilant: Lionel Messi celebrates with his team-mates after giving the hosts the lead on the night

Dink: Messi slips the ball over Joe Hart to give Barcelona a 3-0 aggregate lead

Thanks: Messi celebrates in front of the Nou Camp crowd after his opening goal

Off you go: Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a second booking for disputing a penalty appeal with the referee

Down and out: City crashed out 4-1 on aggregate, and had two player sent off over both legs

Gutted: Edin Dzeko and his team-mates look dejected after conceding the opening goal

Winner: Alves blasts home for the winning goal on the night past Joe Hart

Rough and tumble: Substitute Dzeko is roughly handled by Pique at the Nou Camp

The quadruple is now the Capital One Cup and an uphill climb to wrest first spot off Chelsea. 

City enjoyed moments of brightness here, but a 4-1 aggregate defeat by what Jose Mourinho regards as the worst Barcelona team in recent memory is hardly  confidence-building. 

Mourinho wasn’t alone in thinking this was a tie in which City might come of age. Instead it has ended in defeat and no little dishonour, if UEFA throw the book at Zabaleta, having already banned his manager. 

City are hardly Michel Platini’s favourites as it is.

So what went wrong? Basically, it is hard to win the toughest competition in Europe with one competent centre half and that has been Manchester City’s mission.

With Martin Demichelis banned for the second leg, Joleon Lescott stepped up as Vincent Kompany’s partner, and one presumes he will be stepping down once an adequate replacement is found. 

He was lucky not to be booked for a foul on Lionel Messi after six minutes, lucky not to concede a penalty to him soon after. 

City should have been a goal behind in the first half when Lannoy disallowed one from Neymar that should have stood, and when Lescott got in a tangle from a Cesc Fabregas pass on 67 minutes, the rest was history. As were Manchester City.

Mishap: Lescott's mistake inside the area led to the opening goal for Messi

Friends reunited: Yaya Toure hugs former team-mate Messi at the final whistle

No say: Man City's manager Manuel Pellegrini looked on from the stands as he serves his touchline ban

Great chance: Pablo Zableta looks furious with himself after missing an opportunity after half-time

Another record for Messi

Lionel Messi has overtaken Raul as the top Champions League scorer with a single club...

1 Messi 67

2 Raul 66

3 Cristiano Ronaldo 46

(Raul scored five goals with Schalke so remains top overall)

One error is all it takes for Messi to decide a game, and poor Lescott was a calamity waiting to happen. He had his work cut out early and City were often stretched to breaking point by Barcelona’s forward invention. 

The Fabregas pass, straight, eye of the needle in its ambition, bamboozled him, the ball bouncing off his feet and ankles as if connected by a rubber band. It found its way to Messi, who made the score 3-0 on aggregate. The tie was over, and at terrible cost.

The great ones usually have a trademark and for Messi it is that little dink he plays, one on one.

Down the throat: Samir Nasri had City's best chance in the first half, but his half-volley was saved by Valdes

Floored: Manchester City's Aleksandar Kolarov falls in front of Daniel Alves

Finished it off: Alves smashes home in injury time past three City players on the line

Behind him: Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes celebrates Dani Alves' goal