Compiled by Ranjika Fernando
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Riyadh Mahrez scored two sensational goals to seal a 2-0 win for Manchester City against PSG[/caption]
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City earned their rightful place in the Champions League final after dominating Paris Saint-Germain over the two legs of the semi-final, winning it by a 4-1 aggregate on Tuesday (4).
PSG, who were trailing 2-1 from the first leg at the Parc des Princes last week, started off with a huge injury blow to their squad. Kyllian Mbappe had to be in the subs with a calf injury he endured during training.
However, they thought they had a chance to cut the deficit early on after referee Bjorn Kuipers pointed to the spot for a handball against Oleksandr Zinchenko. VAR stepped in and overturned the decision after replays showed the ball clearly hit the full-back’s shoulder.
PSG looked threatening on the attack but it was City who took full advantage as Mahrez found the back of the net from a tight angle to put them in an extremely dominant position at the break.
PSG were forced to commit bodies up front as they looked for a way back in the tie, but there was no way through City’s rock-solid defence. Guardiola’s men put the game to bed when the French side was caught on the counter-attack as Mahrez finished a fine cross from Phil Foden.
The French giants knew it was all over and their body language started to show it with anger. Few arguments with the referee, few reckless tackles, and ultimately it led to a send off when Angel Di Maria kicked at Fernandinho in the 69th minute. It was the final nail on the coffin as Pochettino went back to his seat and looked in utter despair.
With this win, Manchester City became the ninth English team to reach the European Cup/Champions League final. It is three more than any other nation (Germany and Italy - six sides). It was a big win for Guardiola as he ended a run of four consecutive UEFA Champions League semi-final eliminations, reaching the final for the first time since 2010-11 with Barcelona.
The English club also went into the history books. City now has the longest ever winning run by an English team in European Cup/Champions League history. City is also the first English side to win 11 games in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign. This will be Manchester City’s first European final for 51 years since winning the 1970 Cup-Winners-Cup.