The Lionesses prospect had plenty to do in Catalunya, making an incredible 14 saves, but she couldn't prevent the injury-hit Cityzens from defeat
It was always going to be a tall order for Manchester City to go to Barcelona and beat the reigning European champions in their own back yard. Yes, they defeated the Catalans in the opening round of Champions League group stage fixtures, but that was at home and it was before they suffered an onslaught of injuries that left them with very little to work with this time around.
Without Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood, Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema, among others, the Cityzens put up a valiant effort, but were eventually beaten 3-0 as Barcelona secured top spot in Group C.
From a City perspective, Khiara Keating was the star of the show. Though she's had to play second fiddle to Ayaka Yamashita for most of this season, she got a chance in a big spot here and was eager to take it, making seven big stops in the first half to keep Barca's array of stars out, denying the likes of Salma Paralluelo, Ewa Pajor and Esmee Brugts to keep the score goalless as half-time approached. However, it was just before the whistle that the deadlock was broken, a trio of City players failing to deal with a ball in the box and Claudia Pina punishing them as she finally got the ball past the talented young England goalkeeper.
Barca needed to win by at least two goals to secure first place in the group and the manner in which they started the second half showed as much, with Keating totting up another couple of decent stops within the first five minutes. When Aitana Bonmati broke through one on one just before the hour though, and coolly slotted the ball in for a second, it was difficult to see a way back into the game for a City side that had worked incredibly hard defensively, but created very little on the other side, with a well-hit strike from range by Jill Roord that rattled the bar in the first half their standout moment.
Just to rub salt in the wounds, and emphasise the difference in depth that the two teams had to work with on this occasion, two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas came off the bench in the latter stages and put some real gloss on the result with a beautiful effort from range that Keating had no chance of stopping. City are still into the quarter-finals of the Champions League but as an unseeded team, meaning eight-time European champions Lyon or Women's Super League leaders Chelsea could await them in the spring.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Khiara Keating (7/10):
Was kept very busy by Barca but had an answer for almost everything they threw at her, producing no fewer than 14 saves on the night. Distribution wasn't great but her sweeping was.
Kerstin Casparij (5/10):
Struggled to contain Brugts, who was one of Barca's best players all night, and seemed to play Bonmati onside for the killer second goal.
Alanna Kennedy (6/10):
An improved display after a calamitous one in the defeat to Everton on Sunday. Still had some sloppy moments here and there but balanced it out with some big interventions.
Laia Aleixandri (7/10):
Really smooth on the ball against her former side. Made a couple of huge tackles to stop Barca in vital moments and generally took command of the backline very well.
Leila Ouahabi (5/10):
Didn't have a great start, making a mess that allowed Paralluelo to almost break the deadlock early on, and though she recovered to be much more secure after that, she was caught wrong-footed in a costly manner when Bonmati burst through to score Barca's second.
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Yui Hasegawa (6/10):
Battled well and was tidy in possession despite being under constant pressure.
Laura Blindkilde Brown (5/10):
Worked hard off the ball and had some bright moments on it, not least when she led a promising counter that resulted in an effort by Park, but just couldn't get involved enough, understandably.
Jill Roord (5/10):
Nearly broke the deadlock against the run of play when her thunderous strike from range cannoned off the bar. That was her only standout involvement in the game, however.
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Mary Fowler (5/10):
Did her fair share of defending to help Casparij deal with Brugts, though it was tough to keep the Barca star quiet. Couldn't have an impact in attack with how under the cosh City were.
Jess Park (5/10):
Did a lot of hard work, trying to drive her team up the pitch to relieve pressure, but could only manage one shot on target from the edge of the box. Lost the ball in a dangerous area for Barca's third.
Aoba Fujino (5/10):
Brought a lot of energy to the press and was dogged in her defensive duties. Again, though, she couldn't light the game up with the little chance she had to do so.
Subs & Manager
Lily Murphy (5/10):
Taking up the No.9 role to allow Park to drop deeper, the teenager had half an hour to make an impact but it was always going to be difficult for her to do so given how dominant Barca were in this game. Was a totally isolated figure up top.
Laura Coombs (N/A):
Came on for the final 10 minutes to try and help City claw their way back into the game.
Gareth Taylor (6/10):
Was completely limited in his team selection by an ever-growing injury list which left him with just six outfield substitutes, four of whom were academy players and the other two only recently back from injury. Timing of his only change was positive, though unable to impact the result.
