Claudio Bravo said he must take a large part of the blame for Manchester City's 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona in the Champions League.

City were already trailing 1-0 to a Lionel Messi goal when he was sent off in the 54th minute for a deliberate handball.

The red card was all of his own making as he flubbed a clearance straight to Luis Suarez outside his box and then stopped his goal-bound lob with his fingers.

Messi went on to a complete his hat trick while Neymar added a fourth after also having a penalty saved by Bravo's stand-in Willy Caballero.

The Chilean No. 1 accepted responsibility for the error and said it changed the game with City pushing for an equaliser.

"It changed the course of the game -- we were playing very well, creating opportunities and it is what it is, football is like that," Bravo told reporters.

"It is a game of mistakes and correct decisions. it's just bad luck that I was the person that changed the course of the game. But it's like that. We must keep working hard and look at the next games."

Bravo, who was making his first return to the Nou Camp since his summer move to City, felt Pep Guardiola's side had acquitted themselves well after falling behind to Messi's 18th-minute strike.

His former teammate Marc-Andre ter Stegen made two good stops from Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, while John Stones also planted a free header just wide.

"They have a team that is very difficult but we were playing well, we were comfortable, especially in the first half," Bravo added.

"And it was clear that the game changed after the sending off."

Bravo will now miss the return game at the Etihad in two weeks' time as will Jeremy Mathieu, who also saw red for Barca late on.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Jonathan Smith

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]