Manchester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona took a two-goal lead in its Champions League tie with Manchester City by getting a 2-0 win at the Etihad on Tuesday.
The Catalans dictated play in the early going by having much of the possession, but the home side did manage to ask a couple questions of Victor Valdes in the Barcelona net.
After a scoreless opening period, Barcelona needed just nine minutes in the second half to break the deadlock.
City was reduced to 10 men when Martin Demichelis tripped up Lionel Messi, who was through on goal, to deny the Barcelona striker a scoring opportunity. Demichelis was sent off and Messi converted the ensuing penalty to leave City with an uphill battle for the remainder of the match.
The Citizens performed admirably for the final 36 minutes, keeping Barcelona at bay until the 90th minute when Dani Alves collected a square pass from Neymar before slotting a shot between the legs of Joe Hart and into the back of the net.
It was a goal that may have killed the tie as Barcelona brings a comfortable lead back to Camp Nou for the return match on March 12.
Also on Tuesday, PSG put one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals by getting a resounding 4-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Germans were outmatched from the start as Blaise Matuidi put the visitors in front in just the third minute.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic put the victory beyond any doubt by converting a penalty in the 39th minute and roofing a left-footed shot two minutes later, while Emir Spahic's red card just before the hour mark and Yohan Cabaye's late goal capped a memorable first leg for the French side.
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