Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Absolutely Marvelous
Riyad double sends City into Champs League Final glory
FOR Manchester City, the holy grail of a first Champions League triumph and another Treble is within touching distance.
Two goals from Riyad Mahrez last night following the epic win in Paris swept them into the final in Istanbul on May 29 against either Chelsea or Real Madrid.
Whoever they meet, City will fancy their chances after this historic coming-of-age victory over last season’s beaten finalists.
For Pep Guardiola, who twice won the trophy as Barcelona coach, it is a first Champions League final in 10 years, and few would bet against him making it a hat-trick of triumphs. Paris
Saint-germain’s implosion, with former Manchester United forward Angel Di Maria’s dismissal for a stamp on Fernandinho with 21 minutes left, eased City’s task.
There were heroes in light blue shirts all over the pitch – Mahrez, defensive duo Ruben Dias and John Stones, who put their bodies on the line, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, and veteran skipper Fernandinho, who led from the front on his 36th birthday.
If one moment summed up this historic march to the final, it came 10 minutes after the break, when Neymar shaped to shoot, but saw his goalbound shot blocked by Alex Zinchenko.
John Stones hugged Zinchenko for making the vital block, the episode encapsulating the character and togetherness that has seen City become such formidable opponents in Europe.
There is no doubt the absence of PSG’S star forward Kylian Mbappe, who only made the bench after failing to recover from a calf injury, was a major plus for the hosts.
With 37 goals in 43 appearances this season, including eight in 10 Champions League matches, his absence was a big blow to PSG. But, just as in the first leg, the French club started strongly, controlling possession and putting City under relentless pressure, so much so they struggled to get out of their own half.
There was controversy in the seventh minute with PSG being awarded a penalty when referee Bjorn Kuipers ruled Zinchenko had handled from a cross.
Zinchenko protested his innocence and as soon as Kuipers saw a replay of the incident on a pitchside monitor he changed his mind - much to City’s relief - and reversed his decision.
Guardiola’s men took full advantage of the injustice being overturned by opening the scoring four minutes later.
Ederson spotted the forward
run of Zinchenko and picked him out with a pinpoint long-range pass, the full-back scampering on to the ball before cutting it back for De Bruyne.
De Bruyne’s shot was blocked by Alessandro Florenzi, the ball spinning towards Riyad Mahrez, who produced a composed angled finish for his 13th goal of the season and a 3-1 advantage for City.
Yet City taking the lead did not alter PSG’S task, with the French champions still needing to score twice to have any chance of progressing to the final for the second year running.
They came close to getting one goal back when skipper Marquinhos, who scored the opener in the first leg, thudded the City crossbar with a header after beating John Stones to the ball.
Moments later, Bernardo Silva lost possession just outside of the City area after receiving the ball from Ederson, who put his team-mate under needless pressure with his quick distribution
Di Maria nicked the ball off Silva, but somehow, with City keeper Ederson in no-man’s land, the former Real Madrid and United forward curled his effort wide of a gaping goal.
City sealed the win – and their place in the final – with a wonderfully worked goal made by De Bruyne and Foden, and finished by Mahrez, in the 63rd minute, to cap a historic night for the club.