Nolito: Messi made the difference
Lionel Messi made the difference for Barcelona against Manchester City, according to Nolito.
Manchester City attacker Nolito praised Lionel Messi and felt the star was the difference in Barcelona's 4-0 Champions League win.
Messi scored a hat-trick and set up Neymar as Barca claimed a convincing victory at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
In an eventful encounter, City had goalkeeper Claudio Bravo sent off, Jeremy Mathieu saw red for Barca and Neymar missed a penalty.
Nolito had no doubt as to who was decisive in the Group C clash.
"Messi is the best player in the world so he makes the difference," he said, via the club's website.
"When he gets the ball he always does something, a goal or an assist."
City were only trailing 1-0 when Bravo was sent off, and Barca took advantage to secure a comfortable three points.
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Nolito felt the scoreline was harsh on his team, saying: "We played well in the first half, we had our chances but in the second half we were unlucky.
"This is football, we need to keep going. Today was a very hard game against Barca, but we did not deserve to lose 4-0."
Pep Guardiola's men are now winless in four in all competitions ahead of hosting Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.