90 minutes away from immortality. That’s all there is left in terms of Manchester City finally getting their hands on the Champions League trophy and although the Road to Istanbul is now a lot closer, the final steps still need to be taken.
Steps that come courtesy of City completing the task in hand on Tuesday night and after Pep Guardiola dealt an element of Etihad revenge to old foe Mauricio Pochettino, the question is who will face the soon to be the Premier League champions on May 29th.
That’s a question that will be answered on Wednesday night, as Chelsea play host to Real Madrid and when it comes to questions, PSG were unable to deal with any that were pitted in their direction a night before.
In terms of the game itself, Oleksander Zinchenko was arguably the most pivotal character early on and when at first glance it looked like he had given away a penalty, PSG thought they had a way back into the game.
However, as soon as the decision was made, passionate protestations were on show from the Ukrainian defender and after a much-needed glance at the VAR monitor, PSG’s ticket back into the tie was quickly refunded.
While although Zinchenko can be considered City’s weak link at times, he must get an incredible amount of credit for the part he played in his side’s opener. Credit, that must also go to goalkeeper Ederson also.
From a bounced goal kick, the Brazilian launched an inch-perfect pass to City’s left back and with Zinchenko still in his own half when he collected the ball, PSG were certainly caught napping after such a brilliant move.
A move that was not yet complete and although an initial effort was cleared, the ball only fell to Riyad Mahrez and with the Algerian in the right place at the right time, he slotted home to put the hosts ahead on the night.
A night that saw a deluge of hail rain down on the Etihad pitch and whether the groundstaff decided not to clear it in order to hamper the visitors can be argued. Then again, if that were the tactic, it certainly worked.
At the same time, the coating of hail was all but removed after the interval and PSG were removed from the Champions League by the time that Mahrez was once again the thorn in the Ligue 1 outfit’s side.
The 63rd minute would be the key one and after a neat move down the flanks, a teasing ball was put in the path of the former Leicester star. An invite that was too good for Mahrez to turn down and by the time he slotted home for a second time, it was all but game over.
While it certainly was game over by the time Angel Di Maria had a forgettable return to Manchester and with the former United player being caught stamping on City’s Fernandinho, he was subsequently given his marching orders.
Collective heads had gone in the PSG camp and with manager Mauricio Pochettino cutting a dejected figure, the same could not be said for his counterpart. Because for Pep Guardiola, he and City have moved a huge step closer to finally reaching their continental conquering dream.
