Manchester City 1-0 PSG (Agg: 3-2)
It has taken a long time but now, perhaps, this is the point of Manchester City’s adventures under Abi Dhabi ownership when they can start embracing the Champions League in a way that has seldom been the case since they set out on the long, often difficult journey to establish themselves among Europe’s superpowers.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team had played with a level of know-how that has seemed beyond them for much of the season and their reward after a challenging night is one that means an awful lot to this club, judging by the scenes of jubilation after Kevin De Bruyne’s goal had soothed the crowd’s nerves.
De Bruyne’s accuracy with a curling, precise finish from just outside the penalty area meant PSG needed to find two goals in the final 14 minutes and unfortunately for Laurent Blanc’s team, this was a night when City reminded us they had not entirely lost the art of defence. Their progress to the semi-finals was always likely to depend on it and having come under sustained criticism throughout most of the season, Nicolás Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala chose a good evening to show they could cope more ably than many supporters possibly anticipated.
Sergio Agüero was a constant menace even if he did miss a 29th-minute penalty and though the Premier League table shows there are still imperfections, Pellegrini’s men should at least take confidence from the way they have the attacking personnel to threaten any of the other teams in the semi-final draw.
Perhaps it would have been a more straightforward assignment had the referee, Carlos Velasco Carballo, shown PSG’s goalkeeper, Kevin Trapp, a red card for the challenge that led to Agüero’s penalty.
Agüero had gone round Trapp before being taken down and, plainly, the Spanish official thought the angle he was heading meant there should be some leniency. It was a borderline decision but Trapp got away with a yellow card and Agüero spared him for a second time when he misdirected his penalty beyond the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.
Agüero, for all his gifts, can be an erratic penalty-taker, and this one was an undistinguished effort for a player of his refinement, travelling 18 inches past the frame of the goal. Yet he was still the player, more than anyone else, who carried City’s hopes. Even when he landed badly a few minutes later, jarring a knee and down for so long that a stretcher was brought on, he was quickly back to menacing his opponents. He was clearly in discomfort, walking gingerly during breaks of play, but the Argentinian looked absolutely determined to leave a favourable impression on the tie.
PSG had troubles of their own late in the first half when a limping Thiago Motta was forced out of the game. Lucas Moura has plenty of qualities but Motta’s absence, combined with Blaise Matuidi being suspended and Marco Verratti injured meant Blanc’s team had to get through the majority of the night without their three first-choice midfielders.
On that basis, perhaps it was inevitable there would be times when the side sitting 28 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 struggled for their usual fluency. This was the first time Blanc has used a three-man defence this season and though it clearly constituted a gamble, they started the game encouragingly, passing the ball with more authority than City and quickly settling into the 3-4-1-2 system that had Ángel Di María operating behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani.
Pellegrini had made a bold move of his own given this was the night Yaya Touré learned for the first time in his six years at City he is no longer a mandatory first-team pick for the big occasions. City’s manager had preferred to start with a more conservative central-midfield partnership of Fernando alongside Fernandinho as a means of providing some better protection for Otamendi and Mangala in the heart of his defence. It was a sensible tactic and by half-time City would have been encouraged by the way they had subdued PSG’s attacking trio. Ibrahimovic did spear a free-kick towards goal, requiring a fingertip save from Joe Hart beneath his crossbar, but there was not a great deal from open play to alarm the home team.
Ibrahimovic tested Hart with another powerfully struck free-kick early in the second half and this was the point of the night when the tension levels started to rise. For all Agüero’s endeavour the supporting cast of David Silva, De Bruyne and Jesús Navas were threatening only sporadically. PSG had to find a goal and the harsh reality of an Otamendi-Mangala partnership is there is always the danger that all the good work can be undone in an instant. One slip from Mangala, after 57 minutes, reminded everyone of the risks and soon afterwards there was a miskick by Otamendi. On both occasions they got away with it and in fairness to the two defenders, they played for the most part as though affronted by the suggestion they might be City’s weak point.
Plus City knew at that stage that one goal would almost certainly be decisive. De Bruyne's finish was immaculate, picking out the bottom corner of Trapp's goal after Fernandinho's layoff, and Hart's save a few minutes later to keep out Cavani ensured a jubilant ending to City's best night in this competition so far. Guardian Service
