Barcelona pay heavy price with injuries for win against Man City

Spanish football giants FC Barcelona have paid a heavy price for their 4-0 win at home against Manchester City in a Champions League match with defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique suffering injuries.

The game, which was decided by another brilliant hat-trick from star striker Lionel Messi and a late goal from Neymar here on Wednesday, saw left back Jordi Alba forced to leave the pitch early in the first half with a reoccurrence of the hamstring injury which forced him out of the recent Spanish squad, reports Xinhua.

Alba was followed off the pitch by central defender Gerard Pique, who suffered a twisted ankle following a nasty tackle from his international team-mate David Silva late in the first half.

Early indications are that both players will be sidelined for a fortnight, meaning they are likely to miss the return match in Manchester on November 1, La Liga matches against Valencia on Saturday and Granada in the following weekend.

Pique's possible absence in Manchester was compounded by the red card shown to his substitute Jeremy Mathieu, which means the Frenchman will also be unavailable for the game in Manchester due to his suspension.

--IANS

sam/bg