Pellegrini has Barca hope

Manchester - Despite defeat by Barcelona, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said his side would take confidence from their second-half reaction into the return leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.

A first-half brace from Luis Suarez helped Barcelona to a 2-1 win in Tuesday's first leg at the Etihad Stadium, but Sergio Aguero's 69th-minute goal and a stoppage-time penalty blunder by Lionel Messi gave City hope.

City lost Gael Clichy to a red card, echoing the dismissals of Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta during last season's 4-1 aggregate loss to Barcelona at the same stage of the competition, but Pellegrini expressed belief that they would turn the tie around at Camp Nou next month.