Dirty TackleMartin Demichelis gives Man City bad news and good news with red-card challenge on Leo Messi
Man City's ponytailed scapegoat Martin Dimichelis was a somewhat surprising inclusion in their starting XI against Barcelona, but for 52 minutes, he played pretty well. And then took Leo Messi down from behind at the edge of the box, earning a red card for himself and a penalty for Messi, reaffirming his status as the weak link among City's starters.
As Demichelis walked off the pitch, Barcelona manager and fellow Argentine Tata Martino gave him a grateful handshake.
Messi converted the penalty, giving him his first goal at a Premier League ground, and Barcelona eventually bagged a second away goal against 10-man City to take a comfortable lead into the second leg. Prior to the red card, Barcelona didn't seem terribly threatening and City's defending was holding up as their opponents clocked minute after minute of possession, so Demichelis handed them a needed advantage.
That was the bad news for City. The good news? At least the red card means Demichelis is banned for the second leg as Sergio Aguero should be coming back.
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is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!
