Manchester City cruised into their first ever Uefa Champions League final as a Riyad Mahrez brace downed Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on the night, and 4-1 on aggregate.
Mahrez added two more goals to his strike in the 2-1 first-leg victory in Paris as Man City ran out comfortable winners in Manchester against Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG, who were well beaten over 180 minutes.
PSG badly missed their injured striker Kylian Mbappe who, suffering a calf injury, was forced to watch the game from the stand as a substitute.
Pep Guardiola’s side doubled their lead in the 63rd minute with a classic counter-attack, as Phil Foden burst down the left and, after a quick exchange of passes with De Bruyne, picked out Mahrez at the back post who slotted in from close range.
PSG’s Argentine winger Angel Di Maria was sent off in the 69th minute after a clash with Fernandinho after the ball had gone out of play.
It was a sign of how much City had frustrated the visitors, but for all the night belonged to Guardiola’s men, it was not without its scares.
PSG saw a penalty – awarded for a suspected handball by Oleksandr Zinchenko – overturned by VAR with the scores at 0-0, whilst Marquinhos sent a header crashing against the crossbar and Di Maria curled a 20-yard effort inches wide when Ederson was caught out of position.
Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s side pouring forward in attack, that was as close as they come to scoring, with the superb form of city’s back four thwarting their efforts in the final third.
City can now look forward to facing Real Madrid or Chelsea in the final and it is no more than they deserved after a brilliant performance over the two legs which highlight how far they’ve gone in the competition.
