Full-time: PSG 2-2 City
City have the edge after an entertaining, topsy-turvy game featuring bouts of top play and a lot of slapdash defending. It wasn’t boring, and it’s far from over. Fernandinho and Fernando, one appalling error notwithstanding, were very good in midfield. And De Bruyne is a lovely player. Hell be even fitter for the second leg, and Touré, Sterling and Verratti might be back too so there’s still lots to look forward to in this tie. Matuidi and David Luiz will be following it on a MBM, you could too.
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City substitution: Kolarov on, Aguero off.
90+1 min: In the first of three extra minutes, Lucas bogs the ball high and wide from 27 yards or thereabouts.
90 min: PSG have a freekick, by the touchline mid-way inside the City half. Di Maria sends in a teasing inswinger. Otamendi does well to head it away, and Sagna then completes the clearance.
City substitution: Bony on, Silva off.
88 min: Navas pulls the ball back from the byline to the edge of the area, where Aguero traps it. He tries that little shuffle of his to create space for the shot, but two PSG defenders converge on him to block it.
86 min: A wonderful, probing pass by Silva sparks panic in David Luiz, who whacks the ball out for a throw-in near the PSG corner flag as Aguero bore down on him. And the Brazilian appears to have hurt his ankle in doing so.
84 min: Tricky play by Navas down the right - much more like it - and he’s lucky to be denied a corner after Maxwell appeared to put the ball out. Both teams are looking weary now. The game is getting bitty. So there is plenty of scope for another mistake to give one of these teams a winner....
82 min: Mangala for charging through the back of Matuidi to win the ball.
80 min: Maxwell, getting forward down the left with increasing regularity, clips in a cross. Mangala puts it out for a corner, which City then clear without panic, for a change.
City substitution: Delph on, De Bruyne off.
PSG substitutions: Lucas and Van der Wiel on, Rabiot and Aurier off. It would be interesting to know what word Blanc would use to describe Aurier’s defending for City’s second goal. Anyone know whether he uses Periscope?
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75 min: City are preparing a substitution - Delph for De Bruyne, seemingly - but that may not mean they’ve planning to settle for the 2-2 draw. And nor should they, because both sides are obviously vulnerable and City are capable of winning this here and now.
GOAL! PSG 2-2 City (Fernandinho 72)
Sagna fires a wicked pass into the six-yard box and PSG defend it horribly! Aurier merely helped it on and then Thiago Silva put in a hefty touch, allowing it to run to Fernandinho, who walloped a shot goalwards. It came off both defenders before trickling past the flummoxed keeper and into the net!
Photograph: JMP/Rex/Shutterstock
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70 min: City are improving. They’ve spent the last few minutes in their opponents’ half and now it’s PSG who look fretful, their fans betraying their jitters with strained boos.
67 min: Another strong call for a penalty by PSG after a Di Maria cross hits Clichy near the arm. But the replay shows it hit his chest. And while Di Maria moans, ity attack, working the ball wide to Navas. The Spaniard is in a perfect position from which to cross. Alas, he has regressed from his goof first-half form and gone back to what we have come to expect from him at City. He fails to even get the cross into the box.
64 min: Pellegrini must be considering making a change. PSG have bossed this half and and would look well capable of scoring again, even if another City goal is not out of the question either. Aguero is barely been visible this period.
62 min: Di Maria fires digs out a superb cross from the right. It’s flies just over Otamendi. Ibrahimovic stoops to meet it beating Sagna to it, and directs a looping header over Hart ... and on to the crossbar!
61 min: City threaten for the first time in the second half. Clichy hurtles down the left and picks out Silva in the box. The Spaniard takes one touch and then tries to fire off a shot, but David Luiz (I think) blocks it.
GOAL! PSG 2-1 City (Rabiot 59)
That as coming. Cavani got a nice header on an outswinging corner by Di Maria. Hart made a reflex save, and Rabiot reacted faster than any defender to tap the ball into the net from five yards!
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57 min: Silva channels his inner Bruce Lee and launches himself at Ibrahimovic’s foot, kungfun kicking the ball away and flying into the striker’s toes. Ibrahimovic feels the pain and makes sure the referee notices it too, spinning in the air before flopping to the ground. Play on, orders the ref, rather luckily for Silva.
54 min: PSG keep coming. Matuidi curls a cross in from the left. Mangala gets it away, just about. PSG quickly get the ball back and win a corner. Di Maria pings in the outswinger. David Luiz throws himself around the six-yard box like a stage diver at an Anthrax gig. City scramble the ball away eventually. But their nerves are fraying for sure.
52 min: Otamendi forces Cavani away from goal but the forward hooks the ball back over his head towards the far post. Ibrahimovic meets it but can’t get a proper header on it because of diligent pestering by Sagna. Good defending, but City would be well advised to get back on the front foot. They’re not likely to resist this pressure till the end.
50 min: Nice play from PSG. They tikki-takked they way through City, as if to show they don’t need Guardiola to be able to do so. But after a Matuidi stabbed a good pass through to Cavani, the Uruguayan miscontrolled and City were able to clear.
48 min: Matuidi is aghast to be shown a yellow for catching Otamendi on the back on the heel. I’m not sure it was deliberate but one thing is sure: he, like David Luiz, will miss the second leg. They may not be such a bad thing given his performance so far tonight, but if Verratti is also out, PSG’s midfield will be a little threadbare.
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46 min: PSG kick off, Ibrahimovic getting the first touch of the second half. But who will have the last laugh?
Shay Given has pointed out that Hart has now saved three penalties in a row in the Champions League. But looking at the replay of PSGs goal, I reckon he might have saved Ibrahimovic’ ricochet. He didn’t even dive for it, probably because he was so surprised by Fernando’s error.
“Any desire to speculate where Zlatan could go/fit in with an English side?” ventures Michael Wilner. “Clearly not Man City for Pep-shaped reasons. He likely wouldn’t respond to Conte at Chelsea or do much at Arsenal. But do either Klopp at Liverpool or Van Gaal/Giggs/Voldemort at United hold any appeal.” He’d be perfect for Arsenal, a big upgrade on Olivier Giroud, and would add yet another layer of intrigue to one of the Premier League fixtures of the season, Arsenal’s annual visit to the Britannia. Nobody has yet been able to make a fool of Ryan Shawcross twice.
Half-time: PSG 1-1 City
What a fun half! It was breathlessly open and full of high-calibre play with a hint of farce. Both these sides are blessed with talent but certainly have errors in them. Everything was going to plan for City (albeit after a penalty save from Ibrahimovic from Hart) who took the lead with a slick counter-attacking goal after Fernando won the ball in midfield. But then Fernando gave Ibrahimovic an equaliser in a gift-wrapped box. Who knows what could happen in the second half. Both sides are capable of winning it, or throwing it away. And you sense the ref still have a big role to play too ...
45 min: Di Maria draw a slew of players towards him and then dinks a lovely ball out wide to Matuidi ... who is in a prime location to deliver the ball across the face of goal. But he makes a mess of it, overhitting woefully!
43 min: Handball?! It looked like it at first glance, as Thiago Silva made a meal of cutting out a cross by Navas and the ball bounced off his foot and either on to his hand or his midriff. City players appealed for the penalty. But ‘no dice’ indicated the ref.
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GOAL! PSG 1-1 City (Ibrahimovic 41)
Oh my, that’s a shocker! Hart rolled a kick out to Fernando at the edge of the area and the Brazilian, apparently thinking he was on the beach, tried to just flip it around Ibrahimovic, only for the ball to cannon off the Swede and into the net from 18 yards! What a foolish, freakish way to surrender a hard-earned lead!
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40 min: Superb clearance at the near post by Otamendi from a Cavani cross as PSG seek to land an immediate counterpunch.
GOAL! PSG 0-1 City (De Bruyne 38)
Matuidi coughed up the ball in midfield under pressure from Fernando. Fernandinho carried it forward and waited ... and waited ... and then offloaded splendidly to De Bruyne, who took a touch, swung his right foot and hammered the ball past Trapp from 12 yards!
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36 min: Ibrahimovic is a broken man. He cedes freekick-taking duty to Di Maria. The Argentine accepts the honour ... and dabs a feeble shot into the wall. Was that a ploy to try to make Ibrahimovic not feel so bad?
34 min: PSG are cordoning City into one end at the moment. City are doing well to keep them at arm’s length ... at least they were until Fernando lunged at David Luiz, who again took the invitation to fall on the floor. That’s a yellow for Fernando and a freekick in ominous territory for PSG.
32 min: An acrobatic tumble by Cavani is rewarded with a freekick from the referee. It’s about 30 yards out, a little to the right of the D. Ibrahimovic fancies his chances, of course. But he bangs the ball into the wall.
30 min: PSG knock the ball around the back a bit, a little frustrated that City aren’t offering them an easy route forward. City’s midfielders and forward players have been very dynamic and disciplined; the only real worry for the visitors is the waywardness of Mangala and Otamendi, both of whom are working hard but making the odd rash decision.
27 min: Silva sends over an outswinging corner. Otamendi leaps high above Thiago Silva and gets a decent header to it. but Trapp pounces on it before a forward can help it into the net.
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24 min: Otamendi loses possession cheaply in midfield and, with one through-ball in to the gap where Otamendi should have been, Ibrahimovic is running through on goal! Hart races out to meet him. The Swede elects to shoot from 25 yards ... and skies the ball over the bar! He could have had a hat-trick by now. That’s now way to earn a gazillion-pound a week contract this summer ...
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23 min: PSG are starting to enjoy more possession but City look the more dangerous when they get the ball. They’re making decent inroads, especially down the right, where Navas is on song.
21 min: A lovely curling ball in from right by Navas after Fernando won possession in midfield. Silva gets to the ball ahead of Aurier but can’t direct his header on to the target. “Zlatan will indeed go out all guns blazing,” reckons Mats Anderson. “But not because of a presumptive contract in the Premier League. It’s because the one thing he has left to win is the Champions league. He feels this is an insufferable injustice that has to be corrected.”
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19 min: De Bruyne sneaks in behind Aurier on the right and collects a pass. He bides his time as he waits to a team-mate to make a dash into the box. But none do, so when he eventually delivers the cross, Thiago Silva clears easily.
17 min: City enjoy a bout of possession in the French half but this time they fail to get behind PSG down the flanks, as Sagna is shepherded out of play by Maxwell.
15 min: Hart is flushing all those memories of that Sweden friendly out of his system: he’s just made another save from Ibrahimovic. Mind you, it as another tepid effort, the striker’s header from seven yards lacking power.
Hart saves Ibrahimovic's penalty!
It was struck low but not particularly well and Hart pushes it around the post for a corner!
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PENALTY TO PSG!
City make a UN operation out of trying to clear a freekick and then Sagna, having miscontrolled the ball in his own area, clunks into David Luiz, who is happy to accept the foul.
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10 min: It’s been an engagingly open contest so far. Clichy could have done without picking up a booking just now for a pointless foul on Aurier.
7 min: PSG demand a penalty! PSG opened up the City defence with a cute ball from Cavani towards Matuidi, who surged from deep to catch the City defence unaware. As Mangala chased after him and Hart rushed out to meet him, Matuidi went down in the area. Did Mangala clip him from behind? Did Hart catch him with his outstretched foot as the midfielder tried to go around him? No on both counts, reckons the referee. I think he’s right, Matuidi went down because he lost his balance rather than because of the contact from Mangala.
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6 min: David Luiz rushes out to the left to foil a one-two between Navas and De Bruyne and concede a corner. Again PSG get it away. “If there’s one thing that’s as sure as eggs are eggs it’s that Zlatan, given the recent interest he has shown for playing in the Premier League, is going to go out all guns blazing this evening and try to impress,” blasts Michael Cosgrove. “He’s going to be wild and dangerous...”
5 min: Aurier charges down the right as PSG mount an attack for the first time. He sends in a cross that Otamendi boots to safety. If the defender had not got there Hart would have tidied up, as there were no PSG player nearby.
3 min: City continue to alarm their hosts. Their intensity is far higher than what PSG are accustomed to facing in Ligue 1 and Blanc’s men have been taken aback. Navas wins a corner. But PSG win the header again.
2 min: De Bruyne clips the freekick in towards the near post but PSG clear. However City have had their spinach today and are bursting with energy: they quickly win the ball back, allowing De Bruyne to have a bang from 25 yards. But the ball whizzes way over the bar.
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1 min: City kick off and quickly launch the ball forward towards Aguero, who is taken out by David Luiz. Thats a booking for the Brazilian after just a few seconds! He’ll miss the second leg and is walking a tightrope for the remainder of this one. What’s more, City have a freekick now in a dangerous position ...
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The teams enter the arena, looking worrying relaxed. City are wearing that luminous lime kit just in case the floodlights go out, while PSG are in ocean blue. The rendition of the Champions League anthem is the cue for the visiting fans (presumably) to booooooooooooo. Can’t they show a bit of respect for Uefa on this 0f all days? Fair play to them.
Manchester City’s manager is talking a bold game. Asked whether his team will play cautiously tonight, Pellegrini says to BT: “It’s true that it’s a game of 180 minutes not 90 minutes but I don’t think we know how to play that way. We are not coming here to try to have a draw or a small defeat.”
So what are we to make of Hart’s return in goal less than three weeks after hurting his calf (or his calf muscle, for those of you concerned about cruelty towards bovine pets)? Is it a risk? I don’t know why I’m asking you lot, since you haven’t examined him medically. So we’ll just have to wait and see. And what about mentally? Will the sight of Ibrahimovic get him all aquiver?
Yellow peril
Four PSG players are a booking away from missing the next leg: Aurier, Ibrahimovic, Matuidi and David Luiz. Only one City comes into the game on a yellow: Otamendi.
Teams:
Aurier is back following his ban for offensive verbal effluence, giving PSG renewed power down the right.
PSG: Trapp; Aurier, Silva, David Luiz, Maxwell; Rabiot, Motta, Matuidi; Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Di Maria
Subs: Sirigu, Marquinhos, Kurzawa, Stambouli, Lucas, Van der Wiel, Augustin
City: Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, De Bruyne; Aguero
Subs: Cabellero, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Bony, Delph, Demichelis, Iheanacho
Referee: M Maziz (Serbia)
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Preamble:
Hello, bonsoir, welcome and bienvenue to coverage of the Champions League first leg quarter-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. It might have been been Falkirk versus Slovan Bratislava if the rulers of Qatar and Abu Dhabi had chosen differently but they bottled those challenges so this is what we get. It’s unprecedented, all the same. The sides have never met in in such an important match, their only previous encounter being a 0-0 ordeal in the group stages of the 2008-09 Uefa Cup.
City, of course, were winning a European trophy before PSG even existed but they have never met anyone at all in the last eight of Europe’s leading competition, previous attempts having been thwarted by the cruel snag of having to play strong opponents before they could get that far. By contrast, this is PSG’s fourth successive quarter-final and their best chance of actually winning one, since this injury-ravaged City side (no Yaya Touré, Vincent Kompany or Raheem Sterling) are not as good as the Barcelona and Chelsea teams that bounced them out last times. So this, as the Stones Roses sang, is the one; the one both teams have been waiting for.
There’s a theory that City’s players have turned down the gas since learning that their current manager is half way out the door and that they may follow him if Pep Guardiola doesn’t like their leisurely miens, but it could be that Manuel Pellegrini himself is the one who has streamlined his focus, having sacked off the FA Cup and overseen dwindling form in the league, all of which will be by the by if he delivers Champions League glory. Pellegrini, lest we forget, was brought in specifically to do that, having reached the semi-final with Villarreal (and the quarter-finals with Malaga). Lose this tie and he will be remembered in Manchester as a gentleman, an entertainer and not quite good enough, better than Roberto Mancini but lacking a Machiavellian touch or, perhaps, a Ranierian one.
But City are still capable of winning this tie, especially as Joe Hart and Kevin De Bruyne are back. Yes, PSG have lost only one of their last 38 home matches in Europe and City’s central defence can resemble a toddlers’ play pen, everyone running hither and yon in a way that usually ends in tears but PSG’s central defence can have off-days too, with Thiago Silva showing signs of decline this season and David Luiz still prone to being distracted by runners from deep or an interesting cloud formation. And Marco Verratti would be a big loss to anyone’s midfield, even if Adrien Rabiot is a dynamic young talent and particularly determined to beat City. If it’s a prediction you’re after, make mine 3-2 to PSG.
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