Manchester City 2-0 (4-1 on aggregate) Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester City are through to the 2021 Champions League final after beating Paris Saint-Germain on an icy night at the Etihad.
Riyad Mahrez put in a man-of-the-match performance, giving the Sky Blues an early lead and added another midway through the second half before PSG lost discipline and went down to 10 men.
Highlights of the game
Only in Manchester can you expect snow on the pitch in May! But that’s exactly what we had to greet the players and it made for a frantic start as both teams tried to get control of the ball and their feet.
And there was drama immediately when the visitors advanced, and when the ball was chipped into the City penalty area it appeared to catch Oleksandr Zinchenko on the arm; the referee took a moment before pointing to the spot.
Referee Bjorn Kuipers denies PSG an early penalty after consulting the VAR screen
The Sky Blues protested that the ball had hit Zinchenko on the shoulder and VAR came to the rescue. That escape was on seven minutes and just four later City extended their aggregate lead.
Keeper Ederson started the move with a great ball out to Zinchenko on the left and when he reached the Paris penalty area, he pulled the ball back for Kevin de Bruyne whose shot was blocked. The ball bounced back out to Mahrez and he kept his cool to finish from a tight angle.
PSG started the leg needing to score twice, and nothing in that respect had changed, and they came mighty close to pulling one back on 16 minutes. Neymar had a free-kick chance and his shot deflected off Fernandinho and out for a corner. When the cross came over Marquinhos rose to meet it and his header struck the top of the crossbar.
Former Manchester United player Angel di Maria had Ederson scrambling when he unleashed a shot from over 20 yards which clipped the post and bounced away to safety. And another Red Devil tried his luck when Ander Herrera fired an effort inches over the bar.
As PSG continued to probe the City defence held firm and Ruben Dias made a brilliant block to cut out another effort from Herrera.
The pre-match Champions League 2021 news suggested Kylian Mbappe might be passed fit to play and his appearance on the subs bench was good news for PSG fans.
Mbappe is such a key player for PSG with eight goals in the competition already and, as the visitors toiled to break down the hosts’ excellent defence, we expected the France striker to appear. But Mauricio Pochettino brought on Julian Draxler and Moise Kean as he chased the game.
It didn’t work and City doubled their lead with another excellent goal.
As PSG committed men forward the Sky Blues hit them with a devastating counter attack. De Bruyne slid a pass through to Phil Foden and he squared for Mahrez to fire home his and City’s second of the night.
That was enough for PSG who lost their cool and Di Maria received a straight red for kicking out at Fernandinho. Marco Verratti could have followed him after a nasty foul on Foden and tempers flared. De Bruyne was booked for a daft foul and Pep Guardiola hooked his Belgian midfielder to protect him for the final.
Key statistics
Guardiola has led the Sky Blues to a first final for 51 years since they won the 1970 Cup Winners’ Cup.
This was Pep’s 63rd game in the Champions League knockout stages, breaking Carlo Ancelotti’s record of 62.
Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG lost their 10-match winning run away from home, as they picked up a fourth red card in the tournament, the most of any team.
What’s next?
Tomorrow it’s the turn of Chelsea and Real Madrid to complete their semi-final in the quest to meet Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul, and you can read about all the action from Stamford Bridge right here at SBOTOP.
The Champions League 2021 betting odds have backed Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues from the very start and they will be favourites for the final, but whomever they face will push them to the limit.
Back in domestic matters Manchester City will win the Premier League title sooner or later; in fact a win against Chelsea, when they meet on Saturday, will be enough to confirm the Sky Blues as champions.
Over in Ligue 1, Mauricio Pochettino is looking for his first league title as PSG boss, but his team has a lot to do over the final three games to give Poch his trophy. Lille sit at the top of the table, a point ahead of PSG, and with Rennes, Rheims and Brest to play the Parisiens have three tough games to come.
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The post Champions League: Magical Mahrez Takes City to the Brink appeared first on SBOTOP.