Marc-Andre ter Stegen dived to his right, getting both hands to the ball. It was over. Goodnight from them, and goodnight from us. Manchester City would not be appearing in this season’s Champions League quarter-finals, and neither would a representative from England.
Last to fall, only by dint of the television schedule, City blew what little chance they had with 13 minutes remaining, when ter Stegen saved Sergio Aguero’s penalty. Gerard Pique had committed the foul that handed City an unlikely lifeline, clumsily felling Aguero in the box, a foul seen instantly by referee Gianluca Rocchi of Italy.
Aguero stepped up to finish his handiwork and against a cacophony of catcalls and whistles struck his kick too near Barcelona’s goalkeeper. There would be no grandstand finish, no second miracle in the Nou Camp for the English game — after Chelsea’s remarkable triumph here in 2013. And maybe that is just as well.
<<Print>>