Manchester City have laid a tentative foundation for the first ever Champions League final. The team of coach Josep Guardiola played a mediocre first half in the first semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening, but managed to make the turnaround after the break: 1-2. The Parisians, where Mitchel Bakker was in the base, had to continue with ten men a few minutes after the second goal against. The reunion between les Parisiens and the Citizens is scheduled for next Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium.
The face of Guardiola in the first half and after the sound of the halftime signal spoke volumes. Manchester City struggled to create real danger around Keylor Navas’ goal area, while PSG created some big chances in the first 45 minutes before dropping 1-0 after fifteen minutes of play. Ederson had little trouble with a shot from Neymar over the ground in the second minute and in the thirteenth minute the goalkeeper had to go all out to turn a hard bet from his compatriot. Not much later, the 1-0 fell: Marquinhos headed hard from a corner by Ángel Di María and gave Mauricio Pochettino’s team a deserved lead.
Watch the 1-0 from Paris Saint-Germain
Poor Manchester City then came into the game somewhat better, got a chance via Bernardo Silva, but at the same time they got away well when Leandro Paredes crawled in front of John Stones at a corner and headed just wide at the near post. After just over half an hour of play, a new opportunity for Guardiola’s team followed when Paredes just managed to prevent Bernardo Silva from heading in. In the view of referee Felix Brych, a punch in the back of Neymar by Riyad Mahrez was not a penalty and a minute later a big chance followed for Phil Foden when he shot the ball straight at Navas.
Despite the disastrous first half, Manchester City started the second half unchanged. After less than an hour of play, Kylian Mbappé was unstoppable by Stones and Rúben Dias processed the hard cross into a corner in time. The Guardiola’s team came into the game better and a failed bicycle kick by Kevin De Bruyne preceded the equalizer after more than an hour of play, just after the entrance of Oleksandr Zinchenko for João Cancelo. A turning cross from De Bruyne towards the far post disappeared into the corner behind the unsuccessfully grabbing Navas: 1-1.
Watch the 1-1 of Manchester City
A hard blow for PSG, although the hammer blow followed a few minutes later. Mahrez shot the ball from a free kick straight through the wall behind Navas. The leather fit exactly between Presnel Kimpembe and Paredes: 1-2. However, the suffering of the Parisians became even greater when, not much later, they had to continue with ten men. Idrissa Gueye was immediately allowed to step in for a hard foul on Ilkay Gündogan. The collapse of PSG towards the end signal, after such a strong first half, hurt the eyes, as they were no longer able to resist from a footballing point of view.