Mahrez scores double as Man City reach first Champions League final

CHAMPS LGE: S-FINAL, L2

MANCHESTER CIty	PARIS ST GERMAIN
2	0
(Riyad Mahrez 11, 63) *City win 4-1 on aggregate

Riyad Mahrez struck twice as Manchester City reached the Champions League final for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory over Paris St Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday morning (May 5, Singapore time) that secured a 4-1 aggregate win.

City were dominant against their French opponents, who lost their heads in the second half and finished the semi-final, second leg with 10 men after Angel di Maria was sent off in the 69th minute for an off-the-ball stamp on Fernandinho.

Pep Guardiola’s City side will now face the winner of the other semi-final between Chelsea and Real Madrid in the May 29 final in Istanbul.

Mahrez put City ahead on the night in the 11th minute and then finished off a superb counter-attack in the 63rd to secure their place in the final.

PSG sorely missed their talented striker Kylian Mbappe who was still struggling with a calf injury and had to watch the match from the bench.

Guardiola has not reached the Champions League final since his second European title with Barcelona in 2011.

A pre-match hail storm and downpour made for a tricky surface and City had an early scare when Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers pointed to the spot after PSG appeals for handball.

 

 

Yet a VAR review showed that the ball had bounced legally off the top of City fullback Oleksandr Zinchenko’s shoulder and the penalty was overturned.

The nerves turned to delight in the 11th minute when Zinchenko raced on to a long ball from goalkeeper Ederson down the left flank, found Kevin de Bruyne, whose blocked shot fell to Mahrez in the box. The Algerian made no mistake with his finish.

Yet the goal did little to settle City at the back and the visitors could have levelled five minutes later when Marquinhos headed a di Maria cross against the bar from close range.

City almost self-destructed when Ederson, from the edge of his area, threw the ball out to Bernardo Silva who was robbed by di Maria, but with the City custodian's goal unguarded, the Argentinian failed to find the target.

PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas did well to keep out a low drive from Mahrez just before the break and the Costa Rican was called on quickly after the restart to deal with a Phil Foden effort from the left.

NO MBAPPE

Without Mbappe, Neymar was rarely a danger, floating deep as he looked for the ball, but he opened up City’s defence with a jinking solo run in the 56th minute before his shot from inside the box was blocked by Zinchenko.

City put the tie beyond the French side in the 63rd minute with a classic counter-attack, as Foden burst down the left and, after a quick exchange with de Bruyne, picked out Mahrez at the back post who slotted in from close range.

The frustration spilled over for Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG side and di Maria was sent off after a petulant spat with Fernandinho after the ball had gone out for a throw in.

From then on, it was just a question of if City would add to the pain and the impressive Foden went close with a low drive that clipped the post.

An emotional Guardiola paid tribute to the City faithful after reaching his first Champions League final in 10 years.

PEP PAYS TRIBUTE

“What we have done the last four years has been incredible,” he said. “The Champions League is the hardest and getting to the final was the hardest thing for us to achieve.

“We deserve to be there for everything we have done at the club in the past four or five years.

“I want to thank the former players who helped take us to another level – Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and David Silva. This is because of them, they helped take us to another level.

“I also want to thank the owner, the Chairman and the staff at the club. This club is about all the people that work behind the scenes, the ground staff working at half-time, it’s not just about money. If you want to think that then you are wrong.”

PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino believes his side deserved more.

“I think that if you analyse the two games, we dominated a team that is very difficult to dominate, but you need this percentage of luck sometimes to score in the key moments,” Pochettino told French broadcaster RMC Sport.

“I’m proud. I congratulated Manchester City but I feel disappointed because I think we deserved more, but they were more clinical than us, they were able to score the goals they needed." – REUTERS