Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has admitted that his side could not have afforded to give Barcelona any "time and space" in their Champions League meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
City boss Pep Guardiola adopted different tactics for the match in the North-West and it paid off as City ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a double from Ilkay Gundogan and a Kevin De Bruyne free kick.
After the game, Aguero revealed that his team were wary of Barcelona's ability and that they had to pretend they were not facing the Catalan giants, who beat them 4-0 at Camp Nou two weeks ago.
The 28-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "You always have to respect Barca and any team would respect that, but we had to pretend that it wasn't Barca and try to play how we know, and win, which was the most important thing.
"They're a difficult team, obviously. If you give them the time and the space to think, they will beat you."
City now sit just two points behind Barcelona in Group C.
Darren Plant
