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.
Two first-half goals 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.
“In the way we have to play, I think we can do it,” he said. “We demonstrated in the second half that we are not a worse team than Barcelona.
“It’s very important not to continue making the same mistakes. You can’t have a player sent off in every game against Barcelona.”
Messi won Barcelona’s late penalty after he was felled by Argentina teammate Zabaleta, but his spot-kick was parried by City goalkeeper Joe Hart and Messi headed the rebound wide of the left-hand post.
Given the extent of their first-half domination, when an attacking City team spent much of the time chasing shadows, a 3-1 win would not have flattered the visitors.
Pellegrini conceded that his team “could not put three passes together” as Barcelona turned on the style – Messi nonchalantly nutmegging David Silva deep inside the visitors’ half at one point – but the City manager said Hart’s save could prove a turning point.
“It was a very important save,” said Pellegrini, who hopes to become the first manager to steer City to the Champions League quarter-finals.
“It was a very unnecessary penalty. We must control our emotion inside the box. Of course, that gives us more chance to try to win in Barcelona; 3-1 is a very difficult score to try to reverse.”
Messi played a role in both of Barcelona’s goals.
In the 16th minute, his right-wing cross bounced off Vincent Kompany, allowing Suarez to fire home, and it was his dribble and pass that allowed Jordi Alba to cross for the Uruguayan to slide in his second.
The Argentina superstar has failed to convert five of the last 10 penalties he has taken for club and country, but Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he would remain his first-choice penalty-taker.
“We know penalties can be missed in this game of ours and the next player to take one will be Lionel Messi,” he said.
While a third goal would have given Barcelona one foot in the last eight, Enrique said that he was still satisfied with the outcome of the match.
“It is a night to celebrate,” he said. “Even if it had been 3-1, the tie would still be open. You can’t relax and think the tie is done and dusted.”
Suarez was playing in England for the first time since leaving Liverpool last year and although he celebrated his goals with characteristic glee, he felt that the tie was far from over.
Asked if City still had a chance, the Uruguay striker told ITV: “I think so. If they lost the game 3-1, that is really difficult for them, but 2-1 is a good result for them.”
Pellegrini played down suggestions that City were under pressure to prove themselves as a Champions League force by beating Barcelona.
“It is important for this team to continue in the Champions League as far as possible,” he said. “I don’t think we have invested any more than Barcelona. They have also invested a lot of money.
“This tie isn’t over until the game ends in Barcelona. We can analyse it then.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
