Manuel Pellegrini and his Manchester City squad touched down on home soil on Thursday evening following their Champions League dismissal by Barcelona the night before . The likes of Sergio Aguero , Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta wore pained expressions as they left Manchester airport following their humbling at the Nou Cup . Ivan Rakitic ’ s 31st-minute strike was enough to secure a 1-0 victory and ease the Catalan giants into the quarter-final of the European Cup with a 3-1 aggregate win . Pablo Zabaleta ( left ) and Sergio Aguero leave Manchester Airport following their defeat by Barcelona . Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has now lost to the La Liga giants four times during his tenure . Frank Lampard ( left ) and Bacary Sagna will have little time to rest on their laurels this week . Joe Hart was in inspired form against Barcelona as he thwarted a host of attacks from the Catalans . Aguero had a penalty saved in the 78th minute that would have made the closing stages more interesting , but the reality is that Barcelona threatened to humiliate the Barclays Premier League champions only for a heroic goalkeeping performance from Hart . The squad returned to Manchester late on Thursday evening after they remained in Barcelona overnight and held a session at Espanyol 's training ground earlier in the day . The players were given no time to mull over their European exit after they were taught a lesson over two legs by Lionel Messi and Co. Manuel Pellegrini has been beaten four times by Barcelona since becoming Manchester City manager . After such a commanding performance by the La Liga leaders captain Vincent Kompany was forced to admit that Manchester City are still a long way behind the very best in Europe . 'The reality is they were a better team , there is no shame in admitting that . For me there is a big , big difference . ' I will just mention Bayern Munich and Barcelona , and then there are the rest of the teams , with Real Madrid probably in between . 'Ultimately we have always said our goal is to become as good as them , but it will take some time . They are really good . ' Ivan Rakitic scores the only goal of the game as Barcelona progress against Manchester City . Rakitic is mobbed by his Barcelona team-mates after his 31st-minute strike in the second leg . Pellegrini echoed Kompany 's comments and admitted that Barcelona , with the mesmeric Messi at the helm , are simply a better side than City at present . ‘ Messi was imperious - at the moment we have to accept Barcelona are better , ' said Pellegrini . ‘ It is not a failure , it is a disappointment . We have been unlucky to play Barcelona for two years in a row . We have had a restriction on the number of players we can use in the Champions League . ' 'It is very difficult to beat Barcelona , but the statistics I don ’ t care about . ‘ We can not analyse what we will do next season because it is too soon after this result . We can do that later . ‘ It is not easy to play Barcelona . This is the draw , they are very strong . At least we have improved. ’ City host West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime as they bid to get their title challenge back on track after a shock defeat by Burnley last weekend .
Barcelona were knocked out of Europe by Manchester City on Wednesday . Ivan Rakitic ’ s 31st-minute strike was enough to secure a 1-0 victory . Manchester City progressed to the quarter-final following a 3-1 aggregate win . Manuel Pellegrini has been beaten four times by Manchester City since becoming City manager . City host West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad on Saturday .