City's European fate was all in the cards

Zabaleta's second yellow earns costly banishment against Barca

Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta claimed he didn't know why he had been sent off as his side exited the Champions League with a 2-1 loss to Barcelona at Camp Nou, which saw the Catalans advance 4-1 on aggregate.

The Argentine was dismissed for a second yellow card with 12 minutes remaining after City had a strong penalty appeal waved away when Edin Dzeko appeared to have been felled by Gerard Pique.

Vincent Kompany and Dani Alves rounded off the scoring in the final couple of minutes, but the damage to the visitging side's chances of going through had already been done as Lionel Messi killed off the tie with the opening goal 23 minutes from time.

"I don't know why he sent me off. It was a clear penalty and the referee was two meters away from the incident," Zabaleta said.

"There was a clear foul on Dzeko too in the buildup to Barca's first goal, which he gave as a free kick to Barcelona.

"In the heat of the moment I ran towards him, but I didn't show any lack of respect because I couldn't say anything given I was on a yellow card."

City bowed out of a second competition in four days, having suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Championship side Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup on Sunday.

However, Zabaleta said his squad had shown enough in its performance at Camp Nou to suggest it stands a real chance of winning the Premier League title for the second time in three years.

"It was a very even game. They had good moments and so did we, but the team that makes the most of their chances is the one that deserves to win, so in that sense it is a fair result," he said.

"We are obviously hurt to go out because we are a team that aspires to win every competition, but that is football.

"Now we need to reduce the gap in the Premier League. We are nine points off Chelsea but we have three games in hand."

Barca has also suffered on the domestic front of late as it has fallen four points behind Real Madrid in La Liga, thanks to three defeats in six games.

And coach Gerardo Martino hopes vanquishing a team of City's status will re-energize his team for the final two months of the season.

"It is clear it hasn't been an easy week, but it is also true our opponent could have gone much further in this competition," Martino said.

"We had to suffer, but that is why you live for the Champions League.

"They were two very hard games and we won them both. That means the players have done well collectively and individually.

"It wasn't just about going through, but to do so in the manner we did. That could strengthen us for what is to come, but the league still depends on how we react."

There could be more bad news to come for City as its top scorer this season, Sergio Aguero, had to be replaced at halftime due to a hamstring strain and will undergo a scan on Thursday.

"I felt something in my left leg in the run with Messi at the start of the game," said Aguero.

"I tried to continue, but at halftime I didn't want to run any more risks."

City assistant boss Ruben Cousillas said he was hopeful the injury would not keep Aguero out for much of the title run in.

"It is still too early to say how long he could be out. Apparently it is nothing serious," Cousillas said.

"He will have a scan tomorrow. The doctors will decide, at the moment we can't speculate."

Cousillas was on the touchline as manager Manuel Pellegrini was serving a UEFA ban for criticizing referee Jonas Eriksson after the first leg and he hailed his side's performance in difficult circumstances.

"We are frustrated. We played a great game against a very difficult opponent," he said.

"We had our chances, but when you are left with 10 men it is always very difficult to come back.

"After just eight months at the club we have our first trophy, which is important. Last week we were in four competitions, now there is just one left.

"We showed tonight that we are sill alive and we are going to fight for the Premier League."

(China Daily 03/14/2014 page23)