Manchester City 2-1 Barcelona: Player ratings as Las Balugranes advance to UWCL semi final despite loss

Business

A 2-1 win over Barcelona on Wednesday afternoon was not enough for Manchester City to overturn a 3-0 first leg deficit, as Gareth Taylor’s side crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter final stage.

City came out with great intent and pushed their visitors back from the get go, eventually breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute. An Alex Greenwood corner was headed down by Sam Mewis, only for Janine Beckie to convert the scramble.

The Citizens continued their search for goals after the interval, but Las Blaugranes sunk their hopes with a 59th minute equaliser. Caroline Graham Hansen latched onto the ball in the area and neatly pulled back for Asisat Oshoala to tap into an open net.

City pulled ahead once more just nine minutes later from the spot. Ellen White was clean through on goal before Leila Ouahabi brought her down, and Sam Mewis calmly converted the subsequent penalty into Sandra Panos‘ bottom corner.

Las Blaugranes held on to their 4-2 aggregate lead however, to advance into the Women’s Champions League semi finals. Now, let’s get to the player ratings…

Eliie Roebuck (GK) – 8/10 – Made several brilliant stops and rushed out to quell attacks from Barca’s frontline on numerous occasions – another fantastic outing.

Lucy Bronze (RB) – 7/10 – Not one, but two, goal-line blocks in the first half. Heroic in defence but underwhelming going forward.

Abby Dahlkemper (CB) – 6/10 – Was caught out a couple of times by the runs in behind but, overall, was solid at the heart of defence.

Alex Greenwood (CB) – 7/10 – A real threat when taking set pieces and put in a good corner for the opener. Timed her tackles really well, denying Barca on a few occasions.

Esme Morgan (LB) – 5/10 – Composed on the ball and made a couple of ball recoveries but, all in all, was a fairly quiet for Morgan.

Rose Lavelle, Marta TorrejonRose Lavelle, Marta Torrejon
Rose Lavelle worked hard in midfield | Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Rose Lavelle (CM) – 8/10 – The driving force in the City side. Everything went through the American as she broke through the lines with ease throughout. A brilliant footballer.

Keira Walsh (CM) – 7/10 – A rock at the base of midfield and was excellent in screening the back four. Did fantastically well to play past the lines and get the ball forward as well.

Sam Mewis (CM) – 6/10 – Efficient on the ball and got her side up the pitch well. Created the opening goal with a good header back into the danger area.

Chloe Kelly (RW) – 6/10 – A real threat when she got on the ball and was excellent when driving at her opposition, but just didn’t it enough.

Ellen White (ST) – 6/10 – Wasn’t at her clinical best but did well to wait for the contact to win the penalty in the second half.

Janine Beckie (LW) – 6/10 – Did well to get her first Champions League goal of the season but was sometimes a little rash with her decisions in the final third.

Caroline Weir (LW) – 5/10

Georgia Stanway (ST) – 5/10

Laura Coombs (CM) – N/A

Jess Park (RW) – N/A

Marta Torrejon, Janine BeckieMarta Torrejon, Janine Beckie
Marta Torrejon was stoic at right back | Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Sandra Panos (GK) – 6/10 – Solid between the sticks and couldn’t do much but about the goals.

Marta Torrejon (RB) – 8/10 – Really strong at times, making several crucial tackles and clearances in dangerous positions.

Andrea Pereira (CB) – 6/10 – Was solid and composed for the most part and handled White quite well – no mean feat.

Mapi Leon (CB) – 6/10 – Did well when in possession to find her midfield and attacking colleagues past the press.

Leila Ouahabi (LB) – 4/10 – Really struggled to contain City’s right wing and couldn’t get herself forward to deliver quality. Somehow didn’t see red after bringing White down when she was through on goal.

Aitana Bonmati (CM) – 6/10 – Couldn’t get into the match as much as she would have liked to, but managed to make some decent passes to split the opposition open at times.

Patri Guijarro (CM) – 8/10 – Sat deep, plugged gaps and spread the ball really well. Was integral to the equaliser as she pressed to win the ball back on the edge of the box.

Alexia Putellas (CM) – 6/10 – Roamed quite freely and managed to stifle a few City moves as well as start some Barca ones but, in general, wasn’t involved in proceedings all that much.

Caroline Graham Hansen (RW) – 7/10 – Showed her class on the ball and grabbed the assist for Barca’s equaliser.

Asisat Oshoala (ST) – 7/10 – Was caught offside too often and wasted several opportunities, but eventually found the back of the net for her 19th of the season.

Mariona Caldentey (LW) – 5/10 – Nice and fluid with her play but was quite wasteful in possession, failing to produce any real quality.

Lieke Martens (RW) – 6/10

Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic (CB) – N/A

Vicky Losada (CM) – N/A

Jana Fernandez (CB) – N/A

Bruna Vilamala (RW) – N/A

Schreibe einen Kommentar