Manchester City 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain: 5 talking points as Riyad Mahrez fires City to first UCL final | UEFA Champions League 2020/21
Manchester City progressed to the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in their history after claiming a 2-0 second-leg win over 10-man Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s men came into this return leg with one foot in the final after grabbing a 2-1 win in last week’s first leg at the Parc des Princes.
PSG, on the other hand, faced the stern test of overturning the one-goal deficit without the services of star forward Kylian Mbappe, who picked up a calf problem.
In a one-sided affair at the Etihad, Manchester City broke the deadlock after just 11 minutes thanks to a low strike from Riyad Mahrez.
Ederson, who has been credited for his superb distribution of the ball, fired a searching pass into the path of Zinchenko, who chased down the ball before drilling in a low cross to Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian international’s shot luckily bounced off PSG's defenders and into the path of Mahrez, who made no mistake with his one-time right-footed shot.
The French champions looked a shadow of themselves as they constantly struggled to find the target.
Manchester City, meanwhile, would continue to dominate proceedings, and their constant probing paid off shortly after the hour mark when Mahrez grabbed his second of the night.
The Algerian international, who scored the winner in the reverse leg, calmly slotted home Phil Foden’s cross to finish off a super counter-attacking display.
A visibly frustrated PSG side resorted to needless poor tackles and this saw them go one man down as Angel di Maria received his marching orders in the 69th minute for a foul on City captain Fernandinho.
Pep Guardiola’s men have now cruised past PSG with a 4-1 aggregate score and will await the result between Chelsea and Real Madrid. On that note, we look at five talking points as Manchester City claim a 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
#5 Paris Saint Germain toothless without Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe watched from the bench as his side fell to a 2-0 loss against the Premier League leaders. The World Cup winner picked up a calf injury in the reverse leg and, as a result, was sidelined in the weekend win over Lens.
While he was included in Paris Saint-Germain's squad for the second leg, he was only fit enough to start from the bench.
With Mbappe absent, the Ligue 1 champions lacked pace, cutting edge and attacking threat in the final third. They failed to test the Manchester City goalkeeper as they finished the game without a single shot on target.
#4 Manchester City rock-solid in defense
While the Manchester City attackers have been lauded for their win, their back four undoubtedly played a major role in the victory.
Ruben Dias, who arguably singlehandedly transformed the City defense, once again stood up to the challenge as he dropped a performance of the highest quality.
England full-back Kyle Walker was also at the top of his game, performing brilliantly to keep PSG talisman Neymar at bay. He finished with three clearances, three interceptions and a team-high six tackles.
John Stones and Zinchenko were equally superb, and despite the quality of attackers in the PSG camp, this back four ensured they had no shot on goal through the entire 90 minutes.