Is Pep Guardiola Making Etihad Stadium A Fortress?

For the first time ever, Manchester City played a European giant at their own game and matched their opposition in a Champions League fixture as if they were equals. What Pep Guardiola achieved on Tuesday night, as his side bettered Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad, was hugely important on their progression in the competition.

The Catalan was brought in to improve the club’s performances in the top level of European football and there were eyebrows being raised after a disappointing 3-3 draw with Celtic in September.

It got worse in their next fixture, a 4-0 hammering by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, and the early promise of a new mentality in the Champions League had seemed to have vanished. All of the confidence taken from the 6-0 aggregate victory over Steaua Bucharest in the playoff round and the 4-0 success against Borussia Monchengladbach in the first group match appeared to have gone, replaced by the old spectre of self-doubt.

While the club managed to reach the semifinals of the competition in 2016, it’s fair to say they’ve never really felt at home in Europe. Their early years, under the stewardship of Roberto Mancini, felt like they were still enjoying the ride — happy to be beaten by the best teams because they were finally on the grand stage after years of trying.

Then, under Manuel Pellegrini’s tenure, there was clear progression as they managed to qualify from the group phase three times in three seasons. Still, though, on the big occasions and against the top teams, City always seemed to make their excuses and leave fairly quickly.

Now, with Guardiola taking charge, there seems to have been a mentality shake-up at the club, too. Already in his short time in the dugout, City believe they’re deserving of matching the likes of Barcelona instead of just being happy to be up against them.

The game at the Camp Nou was unfortunate, in some respects. True, City were the architects of their own downfall, presenting Barcelona with chance after chance to find the net and extend their lead further, but the manager’s tactics were working — to a point.

Had Claudio Bravo not missed his pass and tried to make up for it with a ridiculous handball at 1-0, the general feeling among City fans was that their side were just as likely to equalise for 1-1 than the Spanish champions were to make it 2-0. With 10 men, it’s more than understandable that Guardiola’s side collapsed and, under pressure, they made several defensive mistakes.

Lionel Messi put in a poor evening’s work that night and walked away with a hat trick, having been presented his chances by City errors.

The discipline on show from the home team in the reverse fixture on Tuesday evening was impressive. Having been embarrassed, a little undeservedly, by their opposition a fortnight earlier, City were in no mood to give any ground and it meant they put in a display that starved Barcelona of any real chances to get back into the tie once they’d fallen behind in the second half.

Willy Caballero was a spectator, save for picking the ball out of the net from a superb Messi counterattack to open the scoring and for watching an Andre Gomes effort strike the bar, as John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi swept up everything in front of him.

They were helped out by excellent displays from their defensive colleagues on the flanks, Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta, and by the screening provided by Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan in the middle. None of that defensive unit panicked and they all remained composed to play the ball out from the back, even in the face of the Barcelona high-press.

Anyone who thought that was the blueprint to beating City after Tottenham were so effective in doing it during their 2-0 victory at White Hart Lane needs to think again — Guardiola is proving he can adapt to opponents.

Even with a draw or a defeat in Tuesday’s match, City’s qualification would have rested on their result against Borussia Monchengladbach on Matchday Five. Of course, City have the advantage and are playing to go through rather than playing to stay in, but they can travel to Germany buoyed by the knowledge that they can out-perform anybody on their day.

Guardiola’s challenge is now to make sure that City’s day is far more frequent than it used to be in the Champions League. The victory over Barcelona is a huge step in convincing the players, the fans, and the watching world that his team do deserve to be feared by their opposition.

The Catalan’s mission to make the Etihad one of the most dreaded stadiums for opposing managers to visit is well underway. Luis Enrique needs to be the first of many to know how it feels to be flying home with his tail between his legs.