UEFA Champions League: Manchester City are in the semi-final first leg against Paris

Manchester City took a big step towards the Champions League final.

The Premier League leaders celebrated their 2-1 victory in the semi-final first leg at the Parc des Princes at Paris Saint-Germain, who reached the final last year after losing 0-1 on Wednesday night. This means that coach Josep Guardiola’s team has all the trump cards in their hands in the decisive match at home in England on May 4 (9:00 pm).

After that, it didn’t look like that for long. The French series champion dominated the event especially before the break and was rewarded with the opening goal of Captain Marquinhos (15). But in the second half, the English turned the game with a lot of luck with the two strikes, Kevin De Bruyne (64) and Riyad Mahrez (71 / free kick) were on the shooters list. Paris Saint-Germain ended the match after a rude foul by Idrissa Gay on Ilkay Gundogan, who was unharmed, with an outnumbered red card (77). Jay will be absent from his team next week.

The home team took control from the start, dominating the action and pushing for the lead. Ederson deflected Neymar’s finale in the 13th minute. Two minutes later, the ball was already writhing in the net. After a corner kick for Di Maria, Marquinhos made room in the penalty area, not really covered with a header with a big header. Ederson had no chance to defend.

The second goal was in the air, and the most dangerous thing was Paredes’ header, which did not lose much (28). Once again the French were strong after setting the benchmark. There was nothing to see for the guests in the attack – except for one. After Paris Saint-Germain’s mistake and the perfect match for Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden reached the end of the best position, but failed in his central shot to Keylor Navas (42.).

Turn up the city

After the start of the second half, the English got into the game a little better and lucked out on their side at crucial moments. A cross from De Bruyne, intended to be a cross, crossed friend and foe and also sailed past the bewildered Navas to the far corner. Seven minutes later, the game was finally turned upside down. With a free kick by Mahrez from a distance of 20 meters, Kimpembe and Paredes opened the wall, so the ball found its way into the goal again. Navas did not have a chance.

That wasn’t enough, the Parisians, who were defeated by Bayern in the final last year, also weakened themselves, as Jay Gundogan kicked the Achilles tendon without a ball and German referee Felix Brisch dismissed him altogether. This is one of the reasons why Paris Saint-Germain was unable to raise at a later date. The focus was on not conceding a third goal, which was successful because Fodin’s shot was too weak, specifically on Navas (87th).

City now has the best cards to go to the final under Guardiola for the first time. The 50-year-old Spaniard has already succeeded twice for FC Barcelona. In the final, Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid, who did not get past a 1-1 draw in the first semi-final against Chelsea on Tuesday, waited.

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