So here we are, yet again: Manchester City-FC Barcelona 2.0, another 90 minutes in a modernistic pseudo-rivalry that, infused with petrodollars, Spanish bank subsidies, plenty of media hysteria, fan adoration for MSN (the Lionel Messi-Luis Suarez-Neymar trio) or Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, or depending on one’s point view, the "Pep effect", his relationship with Luis Enrique and the mere presence of Lionel Messi, is supposed to encapsulate the zenith of modern club football.

Apart from the general overdone burlesque that today must accompany matches of this standing, what does the return leg of FC Barcelona vs Barca Lite really tell us – that Barcelona is still playing football in a very different stratosphere, that MSN is an exquisitely frightening forward line? Perhaps, that for all the self-aggrandisement, uber-marketing and "productisation" of the Premier League, La Liga is simply a better league? Perhaps.

On the evidence of the first leg, the encounter was one of mere mortals, at least of British "subterraneans". The 90 minutes at the Nou Camp between these two opponents a week and a half back were simply too lopsided for it to be a genuine duel of European heavyweights. The hosts – too comfortable against ten men – toyed with their opponents, destroying the genesis of their mirror image that City so crave to be. A club, steeped in history and tradition, pulverized a nouveau rich, so plain in its "wannabe" compartment.

Guardiola is willing, his side are not

Guardiola returned to Barcelona without an inferiority complex, without a crushing sense of fatalism. He wanted to play Barcelona toe-to-toe. For the briefest of moments, City were pressing adepts, but they ran out of application and stamina early on. Guardiola’s omission of Sergio Aguero backfired, because Kevin De Bruyne scarcely filled the role of a top nine, let alone a false nine.

The Spaniard’s tactical gamble was bemusing. City disintegrated after goalkeeper Claudio Bravo’s clumsy red card. The Chilean did little to justify Guardiola’s aversion for Joe Hart. Bravo has not been the modern sweeper-keeper Guardiola had wished for.

But neither Bravo’s clownesque passing, nor Sergio Aguero’s mystifying omission were a sign, or symptom, of City’s progress, or lack of it. Perhaps, England centre-back John Stones’ slapstick defending against Southampton four days later offered a far more instructive moment to assess Guardiola’s reign at Manchester City so far.

It marked a month going without a victory and a frustrating period for City. Overall, Southampton had produced a disciplined and dynamic display, with Claude Puel’s team applying a rigid defensive unit and a high-pressing technique. In the 28th minute, the Saints’ version of Gegenpressing (from the German word to counter) resulted in a goal.

Guardiola had selected a three-man defence, including Stones, Vincent Kompany, and Aleksandar Kolarov. Stones suffered a lapse of concentration, Kompany was not alert and Nathan Redmond latched on to the misplaced pass to coolly round Bravo. It was a faux pas that highlighted how City’s players are still struggling to absorb and integrate many of Guardiola’s concepts.

Pep's way or the highway

They cannnot play out of the back yet. Bravo cannot instigate a proper movement with his equivocal footwork. Against Southampton, City’s captain Kompany was at unease as the spine of a three-man defence. When Stones erred, neither Kompany nor Bravo offered him a way out. That was a critical mistake – Guardiola always wants his players to have options on the ball, a core element of his enduring obsession with possession and pressing, the fulcrum of the subtle interchange between those footballing traits.

“Three months together, guys, you cannot imagine how difficult it is to build something, to create something,” commented Guardiola after the first leg against his former club. “Barcelona have been playing that way for 15 years, most of the same players, they play together, this kind of game like a normal game. For them, it isn’t special.”

“We,” he added, “need time.”

His plea for time will not, however, change Guardiola as a coach. He is a purist and a radical. The Spaniard adheres to his philosophy and theory – and it cannot be diluted. It is the Pep way, or the highway. Ask Joe Hart and Yaya Toure. Ask Aguero, arguably, together with De Bruyne, the best player at Guardiola’s disposal in Manchester.

This weekend, in a thumping 4-0 win away to West Bromwich Albion, the Argentine striker starred, with two dazzling goals. Guardiola has always said Aguero, who scores 27 Premier League goals on average per season, must improve.

In the 90 minutes, he ran 6.4 miles, more than his average last season, and perhaps an indication of improvement. That is the buzzword at City for now. On Tuesday, they get another chance at improvement – against a reincarnation of Guardiola’s brainchild and, arguably, the best team in the world.