To not win a European Cup for two years is more than understandable for most teams in world football but not this current Barcelona. They remain a long way away from winning it again, of course, but their performance in Manchester on Tuesday night was a sign of intent, a message they very much intended on delivering the moment their attention turned on the last 16 clash. When they landed on English shores this week, there was a sense of a new dawn, the opening of a new window for this current crop of winners to accomplish something relatively new. To many, it wasnt new at all. They did have eight of the 11 that started the triumphant 2011 final against Manchester United on the pitch from the start at Manchester City on Tuesday evening, but after they were massacred by Bayern Munich in last seasons semifinal, a line had been drawn on the past and it was time to concentrate on the future. All great teams need motivation to continually reach the top and this is it for Barcelona 2013-14. "Maybe (City) do not fear us anymore, because in the last two years, we didnt win the Champions League," said defender Gerard Pique on Monday. "We can still be the best, but we have to show the world we can do it. Tomorrow is a great chance." It was in England, at Wembley, in May of 2011 that they indeed cemented their place as one of the greatest club teams of all time. Pep Guardiola was hoisted in the sky by his players after securing their second European Cup in three years. It was a time for reflection but also of great excitement at what the team could go on to achieve. However, the great unscripted drama that is sport, went on to tell a story of a different Barcelona in the next two seasons of Champions League football. As so often happens in knock-out competition, things didnt always go to plan. Chelsea ended their quest in 2012 when they defended brilliantly at the Nou Camp while last season Barcelona were never quite at the level they had set in years previous. A loss in Milan at this stage last season gave us a glimpse of what was to come. A superb comeback at home showed us again just what they are capable of but two draws against an up-and-coming PSG side in the next round squeezed them through to the battle with Bayern that was so one-sided a new legacy had to be started. "It is not the end of an era," Andres Iniesta claimed at the time but that is not what the future will say. If this Barcelona team are to go on to accomplish more European success, it will be considered a new era; one without Pep, or Tito Villanova, a team under Gerardo Martinos wing influenced more now by Cesc Fabregas and, in time, Neymar. The finals against Manchester United in 2009 and 2011 were similar in how they dominated but also in how they took around 10 minutes to get going. Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about it often in the lead-up to their second final together. United needed to take advantage of that time if they were to win. Not surprisingly Barcelona had more of the ball but United had much more of it in that phase than at any other time, just like in Rome two years earlier. At Wembley, Barcelona completed just 10 per cent of their total successful passes in that opening 10 minutes but United completed 15.5 per cent of all of their successful passes. Once Barcelona got going, United, even when they got it back to 1-1, never got any rhythm into the match. All great teams need to keep reinventing themselves and, having waited 10 weeks since the group stages to show what they could do, this current Barcelona team exploded out of the blocks against Manchester City. There was a genuine purpose about their start and for 100 seconds, shortly after the first minute was over, City never touched the ball. Four minutes in and Barcelona had already completed 60 successful passes. The Spanish giants dominating possession is nothing new but them starting this way in the Champions League is. "Maybe we gave them too much respect in the beginning," reflected City skipper Vincent Kompany, whose mind was drawn back to a time in the game that City couldnt get out of their own half. Yet, despite this, it was hard to fault City for their style. At 0-0, they defended excellently and as the first half wore on, showed just why some had thought this was a very dangerous tie for Barcelona. Martinos men will always dominate possession to protect but it is against teams that counter efficiently and remain calm with the ball that they can look vulnerable. In Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, City have two outstanding midfielders who can ensure a team does exactly that. The pair were magnificent in the first half and it would have been interesting to see what more the Brazilian midfielder could have done, had he not tired playing with just 10 men after being injured for over two weeks. Both were pivotal in a key phase before half-time when City put 22 straight passes together. Not many teams can make Barcelona chase a ball for over a minute without getting it back but Manuel Pellegrinis men did that and were encouraged when they walked off at half-time at 0-0. Six minutes after the interval, however, the tie turned when Jesus Navas went down and Barcelona countered. It looked like a foul on Navas but he also seemed to try and sell it and at that point, left his team exposed. With them attacking, City had Toure and Fernandinho further away from their back four than normal and one magical pass from Iniesta sent Lionel Messi through on goal before he was chopped down by Martin Demichelis. Demichelis had to be sent off but had played well up until that moment. Well, however, may not have still been good enough and, certainly, was probably the peak of what he could have achieved. He was, for example, never going to be the rock that Kompany was throughout the match. All great teams have a way of exploiting their opponents main weakness and Barcelona did that in the 53rd minute and, later, in the dying minutes when Neymar and Dani Alves combined to rip apart Joleon Lescott and Gael Clichy on Citys left side. The Brazilian right back had a fine match and almost scored earlier when he did the same to Citys defensive pair but shot just wide of Joe Harts goal. In between those chances, City had their best period of the match when Barcelona showed a conservative approach showing just how vital an away victory in a knock-out stage was crucial. The red card didnt help City but neither did the presence of Lescott and Clichy, who can look nervous against Swansea let alone Barcelona, and the decision to take off Aleksandar Kolarov and leave on David Silva to protect them on the left proved costly. Barcelonas fantastic four Spaniards gave another football clinic on how to treasure the ball - 409 successful passes from 434 attempts (94.2%). Some call it boring, but once again, they were at their best when their team needed them to protect. Xavi and Fabregas….. Sergio Busquets and Iniesta….. Barcelona arrived in England this week with some fear because Man City were arguably the toughest team they could have been drawn against. They left knowing the stern test was passed, likely marching them into the last eight and a step closer to reaching the same level of success in Europe as they are accomplishing domestically. E.J. Gaines Browns Jersey . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Darren Fells Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com...e-Elite-Jersey/. Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. Antonio Callaway Jersey . Chelsea took until the second half to trouble the leagues bottom team, but Schuerrle then ripped through the defence with ease at Craven Cottage to keep Jose Mourinhos side on track for the title. Zane Gonzalez Jersey . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half. SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs continue to win big and to rest players, and the limited minutes are starting to show in the revival of Tim Duncans game. Tony Parker had 18 points and eight assists and Duncan had 15 points and eight rebounds and San Antonio rolled to a 111-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, extending the Spurs franchise record winning streak to 19 games. "Theyre playing amazing right now," Golden State guard Stephen Curry said. "Thats the best in the league right now." San Antonio (59-16) extended its league-leading record to four games over the Thunder (54-19) ahead of their matchup Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was able to rest his core players with his team leading by as many as 26 points and never trailing after the opening three minutes. "Our minutes stayed low and its just like Pop likes it, so well see what happens tomorrow (against Oklahoma City)," Duncan said. Duncan played only 20 minutes and Parker 28. Both sat out the entire fourth quarter. After struggling with his outside shot for much of the season, Duncan is regaining his soft touch just in time for San Antonios 17th consecutive post-season appearance. He finished 7 for 11 from the field, including 6-for-7 shooting in the first half on a series of soft jumpers, bank shots and a dunk. "The Big Dog is always a key for us," Spurs reserve post Jeff Ayres said. "We pretty much go as he goes. If hes hooping like that, it just lifts everybody up. It opens everything up for everybody else." Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills scored 13 points apiece, Marco Belinelli had 12 and Kawhi Leonard 11. San Antonio swept the four-game season series against Golden State and has won 31 straight at home against the Warriors, the Spurs longest active winning streak against any team. Klay Thompson finished with 15 points and Stephen Curry 11 for Golden State, which was playing on the second night of back-to-back games. The "Splash Brothers" struggled offensively, especially in the first half against San Antonios perpetual motion. "Just the way they move the ball," Curry said. "It seems like theyre always on the attack. They force you to make decisions on both ends of the floor." Marreese Speights scored 22 points and fellow reserve Jordan Crawford added 16 points for Golden State. With the Warriors missing Andrew Bogut, David Lee and Festus p;Ezeli, Speights provided the team with a needed boost inside.dddddddddddd He was 10 for 16 from field and had nine rebounds in 30 minutes. "Coach keeps giving me a chance, and Im just trying to make the best out of it," Speights said. "Coach is a good coach and he finds guys and gets the best out of them." Popovich found a way to do the same after screaming for a timeout 69 seconds into the game after a turnover and missed 21-foot jumper by Duncan put San Antonio in a 4-0 hole. San Antonio responded to their coachs directions with a 14-2 run as Parker and Duncan essentially turned the teams fluid ball movement into a two-man game. Duncan made his next four attempts on a tip follow, dunk, reverse layup and baby hook. Parker assisted on two of Duncans baskets and made a 3-foot jumper, two free throws and finished with a layup and a 14-6 lead with 6:46 remaining. "We didnt get off to a quick start," Duncan said. "For the first couple of minutes we were kind of sputtering out of there, but we got some shots to go. (We got) some stops to go and kind of got ourselves a lead there." After shooting a combined 5 for 13 in opening half, the "Splash Brothers" found their range in the third quarter to rally Golden State. They opened the quarter shooting 4 for 6, with Thompson hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Curry adding his only one of the game. Thompsons second 3-pointer pulled Golden State within 71-61 with 6:23 remaining in the third. Speights hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 74-67 with 4:30 remaining. San Antonio responded as it has throughout its winning streak, using player and ball movement to close the quarter on a 16-6 run following Thompsons 3. "Theyre pros," Popovich said. "They just kept playing. They tried to be solid. Theres going to be runs in a 48-minute NBA game. With all the possessions, youre not going usually keep a lead like that. (Warriors) made a run and we responded well." NOTES: San Antonio has not lost at home to Golden State since a 108-94 defeat on Feb. 14, 1997. ... Spurs F Matt Bonner (right calf strain), F Austin Daye (mild left lat strain) and C Aron Baynes (fractured right rib) did not play, leaving the Spurs with only Duncan, Splitter and Jeff Ayres standing 6-foot-9 or taller. Popovich is unsure when Bonner will return. ... San Antonio Express-News writer Mike Monroe received the Phil Jasner lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association. 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