City don't really get close in the Camp Nou

Lionel Messi was so good it was funny

Ivan Rakitic scored the only goal of the game and Sergio Aguero missed a penalty as Barcelona knocked Manchester City out of Europe.

Following Arsenal's exit from the Champions League in Monaco on Tuesday night, the only remaining Premier League side in the competition faced a mountainous task as Manchester City travelled to Barcelona with a 2-1 first leg deficit to overcome.

It meant that Manuel Pellegrini's side had to score at least twice in the Camp Nou to stand any chance of advancing to the quarter-finals. However, with Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi all in exceptional form it would be a whole new task to stop Barcelona from stretching their lead at the other end.

Within two minutes Vincent Kompany was robbed on the edge of his own box by Dani Alves and he slipped in Neymar, who placed a shot against the base of the near post and saw the ball spin agonisingly across the line and wide of the other upright.

The visitors did not learn their lesson and Toure, who endured an awful night, lost the ball to Messi in midfield and Joe Hart was called into action as Suarez went through one-on-one but couldn't beat the City keeper.

Chances continued to come thick and fast for the home side with Hart being kept busy as the Barcelona front three started to weave their magic. Leading the orchestra was the magnificent Messi who was finding too much space and running every Barca attack with devilish intent.

The opening, and only, goal of the game arrived just after the half hour mark and it was thoroughly deserved for the Catalans. Messi tied Aleksandar Kolarov up in knots before cutting inside to curl a delicious pass over Bacary Sagna. Ivan Rakitic, who had left Toure in his wake, arrived at the far post to chest down and loft a delightful finish over the on-rushing Hart. Up until half time the home side threatened to run riot as they pinned City back and the visitors looked to be sitting ducks on the counter attack.

Somehow they got through to the break without conceding again, although it was a minor miracle that they then made it through the first ten minutes of the second half too. Hart was in superb form all night and the England goalkeeper was at his very best to keep out Neymar in two more one-on-one situations, as well as a Messi thunderbolt.

As the missed chances stacked up and with El Clasico looming large on the horizon at the weekend, the home side stepped off the gas in the middle of the second half and very nearly paid a very large price.

Sergio Aguero, isolated for the most part, stole the ball off Gerard Pique and the Spanish defender brought him down just inside the penalty area. The referee waited for a second or two before pointing to the spot and the travelling band of City supporters suddenly had hope with 12 minutes to go.

That hope was dashed moments later as Aguero stepped up and Marc Andre ter Stegen guessed the right way to parry it clear and, effectively, end the tie.

As City head's dropped the hosts scented blood again and went for the jugular but, once again, found Hart in fabulous form. Neymar was denied one-on-one for the umpteenth time before Messi was superbly kept out from point blank range. There was still time for Suarez to fire wide and Neymar to be halted once again in injury time.

The final whistle finally blew on Manchester City and the Premier League's interest in the UEFA Champions League as the clock ticked over to 93 minutes. Barcelona march on and, in truth, if it hadn't been for the excellent Hart the aggregate score could have been far greater than 3-1.