FC Barcelona vs Manchester City Tickets

Past results between these teams suggest that the Camp Nou hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Man City, however recently the Sky Blues have arguably fared better than their Catalan opponents in European competition.

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FC Barcelona vs Manchester City History

FC Barcelona, with five European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles to their name, as of 2023, can consider themselves historically more accomplished than their opponents, but Manchester City are very much on par with the Catalan side in terms of recent successes.

FC Barcelona’s first European Cup success came in 1992 after two previous failed final attempts against Benfica (in 1961) and Steaua Bucharest (in 1986). Johan Cruyff cracked the code with a narrow win over Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium.

The Dutch boss then experienced a low point two years later when his side went up against AC Milan and were found wanting, losing 4-0 to the Italian giants.

It would take another decade to hit those heights again, with Frank Rijkaard scoring the club’s first win of the UEFA Champions League era, with late goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti earning Barcelona a comeback win over Arsenal in Paris.

Three titles over the space of six years between 2009 and 2015 earned Barcelona the right to be considered, at that time, the biggest and most prolific team of the era. The key to those successes were certainly Argentine legend Lionel Messi, albeit with additional assistance from the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, and Sergio Busquets.

The first two of those wins came against Manchester United, in Rome and at Wembley Stadium, under Pep Guardiola. The third during Luis Enrique’s three-year spell in charge at Camp Nou, his side beating Juventus in Berlin.

Manchester City’s involvement in the competition is very much skewed in terms of the more recent past; however, their first campaign did come way back in 1968/69, albeit briefly, as they were beaten by Turkish side Fenerbahce in the First Round.

Their return to the competition came over 40 years later, with the 2011/12 campaign secured after Roberto Mancini had claimed the club’s first Premier League title.

In that season and the next, they failed to navigate a way through their group stage, but in 2013/14, they finally did so before losing to Barcelona in the Round of 16. The club’s first significant run in the UEFA Champions League followed in 2015/16 when Real Madrid edged them out 1-0 on aggregate.

Between 2017/18 and 2019/20, Pep Guardiola’s side suffered three successive Quarter-Final exits with losses to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Lyon.

2020/21 saw the club finally go all the way to the UEFA Champions League Final, only to lose to a single goal from Kai Havertz, with Chelsea edging out their Premier League rivals in Porto.

The Etihad Stadium side continued to invest vast sums into the playing side of the business and were clearly focused on ending their lengthy wait for the ultimate prize, and in 2022/23, they finally managed to complete their quest.

Wins over Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals earned them a final with Inter Milan, and a Rodri goal midway through the second half was the just reward for Manchester City.

FC Barcelona vs Manchester City Stats and Mutual Connections

Lionel Messi netted six times in as many games for Barca when facing Man City. The Argentina forward scored a hat-trick at the expense of the Sky Blues, as Barcelona ran out 4-0 winners in this fixture during the 2016/17 campaign.

A number of players have represented both these teams, including some who've moved directly from Catalonia to Manchester.

• Sylvinho spent five years at Barcelona, winning two Champions League titles, before switching to MCFC on a free transfer in 2009. The former Brazil left-back played just 15 times for Man City before hanging up his boots.

• Yaya Touré made 316 appearances for Manchester City, having joined from Barcelona in 2010. The Ivory Coast midfielder became a three-time Premier League winner with the Citizens.

• Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was one of Pep Guardiola's first signings as Man City manager. Bravo remained at the club for four years, though he was limited to just 61 senior appearances.

Several others stars have moved in the opposite direction, including the likes of Sergio Agüero, Ferran Torres and İlkay Gündoğan. Menawhile, of course, Guardiola was in charge of Barca for four years before taking up the role at Bayern Munich and later Man City. His former teammate, Txiki Begiristain, became the Manchester City sporting director in 2010, having held the same position for seven years at Barcelona.

FC Barcelona vs Manchester City Head-to-Head

The first meeting between these teams came in the last-16 of the 2013/14 Champions League. Lionel Messi and Dani Alves were the goalscorers in both legs as Barca claimed a 4-1 aggregate win.

The very next season Barcelona and Man City reconvened at the same stage of the same competition. La Blaugrana were once again victorious, this time 4-1 on aggregate, including a narrow 1-0 win at the Camp Nou.

In 2016/17 the two sides met in the Champions League group stage for the first time. This was Pep Guardiola's first season in charge of Manchester City, and the Spaniard suffered a humbling 4-0 defeat on his return to Catalonia. Messi scored a hat-trick before Neymar also got in on the act, though Guardiola's side would later earn a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium.

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