The Spanish contingent putting the questions to Barcelona manager Luis Enrique at his press conference late on Monday night were struggling to comprehend what had happened to the team they referred to as ‘we.’

‘Was it because Gerard Pique was missing?’ ‘Were we over-confident after taking a lead?’ Enrique, who has something of the Pep Guardiola about him, described things as he saw them and would not take refuge in such excuses. “If you lose, it’s not because of the players who are not there,” he said, with mounting exasperation. “I’ve not got an explanation. This is the game where facts change things. Sometimes there are [two teams operating at] different levels. Sometimes it’s not tactical. I could tell you something different but that’s not my way…”

It would have been worth Guardiola having some of his players in the packed press room to hear this external assessment of their performance, because where Europe is concerned there is that perennial sense that they and their supporters don’t really believe it themselves. Manchester City broke a cycle of inferiority with a signature performance on Tuesday night, steeling themselves against the setback of Lionel Messi’s opening goal to end the evening running one of the world’s best sides asunder from every point across their retreating back line. It was a demonstration that City can think of themselves as a side in the bracket of Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The game did have a ‘tactical’ component actually, and a very dynamic one, demonstrating the capacity of both managers to make significant in-game changes; a factor often overlooked in our obsession with whom a club might sign and play from the start. Enrique flipped his centre-backs Javier Mascherano and Samuel Umtiti from their natural positions so they could hit long diagonal passes to deter the press they expected from City down the flanks. Mascherano completed three times more long passes than any other player on the field. That put City in “real trouble,” Guardiola admitted. Sergio Aguero drifted into the wide channels, deterring the Spanish full-backs from advancing to pursue those diagonal passes as much as they wanted.

Guardiola varied the pressing: starting with less of it than Enrique had expected, but in the second half ratcheting up that aspect of City’s game and operating with an extremely high defensive line, as he sought a way back into the game. “They haven’t pressed as much as we thought they would and that meant we could dominate in the first half but the second is a different story,” Enrique reflected.

The long-ball counter-attack - not at all the typical Guardiola - was used to seek out the higher line of midfielders and Sergio Aguero, with Nicolas Otamendi and Aleksandar Kolarov releasing most of the passes from deep. At 3-1 up, City then assumed a “low-block”, dropping deeper, the City manager said after the victory.

Guardiola’s rapid explanations in as-yet imperfect English can be fiendishly difficult to follow but he seemed to suggest that the use of the long-ball counter attack was a way of winning with players not yet steeped enough in his philosophy to win through them alone. “We play[ed] long balls because we are not ready to keep the ball,” he said. “We are three or four months into playing a different way. When the team feel not comfortable in [these] kind[s] of games, we try to play more direct. We try [to play that way] and now we realise we won against [one of] the best team[s].”

Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Willy Caballero – 6 out of 10 Couldn’t do anything about the goal but didn’t mess around with the ball when he had it and cleared his lines well. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Pablo Zabaleta – 7 out of 10 Got the crowd up for the game with his performance and watched Neymar well. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Nicolas Otamendi – 7 out of 10 Cut out all the mistakes that have marred his game in his most recent appearances. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings John Stones – 7 out of 10 Looked stretched at points when Barca attacked but did well on the whole. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Aleksandar Kolarov – 7 out of 10 Did little going forward but his main job was to deal with the threat of Messi, which is never easy. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Fernandinho – 7 out of 10 Broke from midfield well to support the attack and barely stopped running. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Raheem Sterling – 8 out of 10 City’s most dangerous player on the night. Should have scored just after half time but was a constant threat. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Kevin De Bruyne – 8 out of 10 Pretty anonymous until his stunning free-kick gave City the lead and was a constant threat in the second 45 minutes. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Ilkay Gündogan – 8 out of 10 Beautifully-timed run for both his two goals, arriving in the right place at the right time – something he is quickly making a habit of doing. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings David Silva – 8 out of 10 Passed through the lines well and won the free-kick cleverly for De Bruyne’s goal. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Sergio Agüero – 8 out of 10 Why didn’t he start at the Nou Camp? Aguero was exceptional as always and never gave Barca a moment to rest. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6 out of 10 His range of passing was inch perfect throughout but could be blamed for his positioning on De Bruyne’s free kick. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Sergi Roberto – 4 out of 10 Played a blind pass to allow City to equalise and almost repeated the mistake in the second half. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Javier Mascherano – 5 out of 10 Was stretched by City’s brilliant attack throughout the entirety of the second half. Getty Images Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Samuel Umtiti – 5 out of 10 Was lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half as Sterling was booked for diving instead. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Lucas Digne – 5 out of 10 Was given a bit of a run around by Sterling but supported Neymar well when attacking. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Ivan Rakitic – 5 out of 10 His metronomic passing was a little awry but a nuisance in his defending as he hustled City’s midfielders. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Sergio Busquets – 5 out of 10 Struggled to stem City’s attack when they broke and was taken on too easily by Aguero at times. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings André Gomes – 5 out of 10 Replaced the injured Iniesta and missed a fantastic chance to equalise when he thumped the ball against the bar. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Lionel Messi – 7 out of 10 His work for the opening goal was genius as he started and finished a sublime counter attack. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Luis Suárez – 6 out of 10 Had a number of chances throughout and should have found the net with at least one of them. Manchester City vs Barcelona player ratings Neymar – 5 out of 10 Did really well for the opening goal but faded as the game went on.

He name-checked Sergio Busquets as one of the most difficult to deal with and had clearly dictated that a job must be done on arguably the most dangerous opposition player. Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and David Silva collectively suffocated Busquets as the game progressed, limiting his vital capacity to dictate the game. UEFA’s passing distribution statistics demonstrated how important that strategy was. Busquets still completed more passes than any other player, bar Umtiti. The Manchester United supporters sneering on Wednesday about City having beaten a side minus Andres Iniesta were overlooking the silencing of this more significant player.

Such was the intelligence of the Guardiola plan. Now all he needs is a squad, a club and a support base that matches his belief in it. The usual excuses about British clubs’ recent struggles in Europe - the intense Premier League competition or lack of a winter break - always frustrate Guardiola when they are put to him. He is adamant that the quality is there and continually hints at a psychological deficit. He said late on Tuesday that this is what City are fighting against.

Manchester City recorded a famous victory against Barcelona on Tuesday (Getty)

“We play against us, against our tradition and what we have to do,” he observed. “When one club like Manchester City is 25 years without being in Europe, you don’t have history. History means when you face the big teams you are constant to fight against them…”

He certainly doesn’t seem to see the problems that others might, with his surroundings and inheritance. The only difficulty he has had with Audenshaw, the unprepossessing east Manchester district near the Etihad where he has taken to playing golf, is how to pronounce it. (“Awdenshaw? Odenshaw?” he asked a City colleague a few weeks back.)

Sergio Aguero was central to City's success on Tuesday night (Getty)