JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Manchester City beat Paris Saint-Germain 2:1 away in the first Champions League semi-final match.
The team of coach Mauricio Pochettino from the beginning took a strong initiative on the pitch and every now and then threatened the rival’s goal. We did not have to wait too long for the results.
Pep Guardiola’s charges did not play well in the first half, and the hosts dominated at times, and this only confirmed the goal in the 15th minute, that the standing ball centered Angel Di Maria, and the ball into the net with his head Marquinhos. after that they had to work hard to rebound and win. The Citizens’ win was decided by hits later in the 64th minute by Kevin De Bruyne and 71st minute by Riyad Mahrez.
Later in the match, the Parisians were looking for an opportunity to strike a second blow. They were narrowly unlucky with Leandro Paredes, who in the 28th minute struck past the junction of the post and crossbar after Neymar’s centre. The visitors had considerable problems to transfer the burden of the game to the opponent’s half. The Citizens could have tied the game just before the break, but Phil Foden’s well-timed shot from fifteen yards was deflected straight at Keylor Navas.
“The Citizens finally got their act together from the 64th minute onwards, albeit with a lot of help from the locals. It all started with a short corner, after which the ball found its way to Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian forward’s shot from outside the 16 came off the far post, but a distracted Keylor Navas let what looked like a defensible ball into the net.
A short time later it was 2-1 for Manchester City. This time it was Riyad Mahrez in the lead role. The Algerian cleverly struck from a free kick. The ball found a place between Presnel Kimpembe and Leandro Paredes in the wall and surprised helplessly intervening PSG goalkeeper.
This turn of events surprised PSG . For it in the 77th minute, when Idrissa Gueye saw a direct red card for a brutal foul on Ilkay Guendogan. The visitors took a one-goal lead to the end and deservedly enjoyed the win.
Pep Guardiola’s side triumphed 2-1 in France and took a giant step towards reaching the Champions League final – a first in the club’s history. The return clash at the Etihad Stadium will take place on 4 April.
Paris Saint-Germain – Manchester City 1:2 (1:0)
Marquinhos 15′ – Kevin De Bruyne 64′ Riyad Mahrez 71′
PSG: Keylor Navas – Alessandro Florenzi, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Mitchel Bakker – Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes (83′ Ander Herrera) – Angel Di Maria (80′ Danilo Pereira), Marco Verratti, Neymar – Kylian Mbappe
MCI: Ederson – Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo (61′ Oleksandr Zinchenko) – Ilkay Guendogan, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne – Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden
Yellow Cards: Leandro Paredes, Neymar (PSG) and Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
Red card: Idrissa Gueye 77′ (PSG)
Real Madrid – Chelsea FC 1:1 (1:1)
Real tied with Chelsea, the Champions League final remains open
From the first minutes Chelsea dictated the conditions and took the initiative in the meeting. Real was surprised to be forced to defend in its own half. The Kings’ players lacked freshness and proper physical form, where they clearly diverged from Thomas Tuchel’s players.
In the 14th minute an excellent perpendicular pass went out Christian Pulisić, passed the Real goalkeeper and put the ball into the guests’ goal.
In the 29th minute, Marcelo played a good pass into the box to Casemiro, who passed the ball inside to Karim Benzema, who took the ball and hit a powerful shot from close range to give Real Madrid the equaliser.
