Manchester City hosted Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Pep Guardiola’s team were looking to bury the game in order to get into the final, while PSG were looking for an unlikely comeback.

Mauricio Pochettino dealt with a blow before the game with Kylian Mbappé side-lined. All eyes were on Neymar Jr to bring the Parisians to the last stage.

The game kicked off with an early penalty scare for Man City as PSG players appealed for a handball from Oleksandr Zinchenko in the box.

VAR stepped in and overruled the appeal as replays clearly showed the ball hitting the Ukrainian fullback’s shoulder.

It didn’t take long for City to make the breakthrough as Riyad Mahrez once again stepped up to put the Sky Blues into the lead.

In the 11th minute, Mahrez slotted a rebound ball from a tight angle past Keylor Navas. The hosts were edging closer to their first European Cup final.

In response, PSG were trying to put on the pressure against Manchester City with multiple chances in the first half. City, however were the dominant side with a solid defence cemented by Ruben Dias.

The first half ended 1-0 (3-1 on aggregate) to the hosts.

Paris Saint-Germain needed to make a quick comeback in the second half but Mbappé was still on the bench.

The Citizens were still looking like the dominant force in the game despite PSG’s attempts for an equaliser.

Just past the hour-mark, Mahrez got his brace to seal Man City’s first Champions League semi-final win.

On the counter-attack, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden linked up with blistering pace. The England prospect rolled the ball to Mahrez, who smashed it into the top of the net.

Surely this was Mauricio Pochettino’s last chance with PSG. The Parisians upped the ante by playing rough, but to no avail.

To make matters worse, Angel Di Maria got a red card a few minutes after the second goal. The Argentine midfielder kicked Fernandinho in the side-lines after the ball went out. He was sent off for the offense, putting the visitors down to 10-men.

A flurry of fouls was committed for the remainder of the game as the commentators pointed out that PSG lacked any discipline.

All the rough and tumble amounted to nothing, as French side were eliminated and Manchester City went through.

The hosts won 4-1 on aggregate as they enter the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in history.

Source of Image – UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE via Twitter

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