Manchester City, for the first time in their history, have successfully qualified for the final of the UEFA Champions League. The Citizens managed the feat at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain inside Etihad Stadium with Riyad Mahrez scoring twice to guide them to dream land.
Ahead of the encounter, PSG needed to score twice without conceding following the 2-1 defeat in the first leg at Parc des Prince in which they had to finish the clash with ten men. Following a rather positive start and in the absence of injured star Kylian Mbappe, Les Parisians were dealt a blow with a swift counter-attacking move initated by City goalkeeper Ederson resulting in a goal.
With a passing range like this, Ederson could be mixing it up with the Manchester City midfielders
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 4, 2021
This angle shows just how good his ball was to Zinchenko in the lead up to Mahrez's goal #UCL pic.twitter.com/UKUx1B3WsK
A long ball from the Brazilian goalkeeper was picked up a speeding Aleksander Zinchenko who laid the ball on the plate for Kevin De Bruyne to shoot at goal. However, the Belgian playmaker had his attempt saved by Keylor Navas although the ball ended up in the path of Mahrez who simply slotted it home.
Two goals from the visitors would have still forced the game into extra-time but PSG's hopes of a comeback were dashed after Mahrez utlilized a Phil Foden assist to safeguard Man City's lead in the 63rd minute. Not long after, Angel Di Maria was sent off for violent conduct while his side failed to qualify for the finals of yet another Champions League final.
It's that man Mahrez again
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 4, 2021
Another fantastic counter attack and Phil Foden plays in the Algerian who makes no mistake. 4-1 to City on aggregate with 25 minutes to play.
Stream live: https://t.co/0BMWdeEYT3 #UCL pic.twitter.com/vUm6enuGkF
With Tuesday night's result, Manchester City became the first Premier League team to win 11 games in a single Champions League campaign, breaking Manchester United's record set in the 2002/2003 season. They are also the first ever English team to win seven consecutive Champions League matches. For the club's manager Pep Guardiola, he joined Sir Alex Ferguson as the only two managers to have reached a European Cup or a Champions League final in three different decades. It is also the first time in his managerial career that he has reached a European cup final without Lionel Messi in his team.
Only two managers have reached a European Cup / Champions League final in three different decades:
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 4, 2021
Sir Alex Pep
1990s 2000s
2000s 2010s
2010s 2020s
And they faced each other in two of them. #UCL pic.twitter.com/x4vZZU1xEV
This was how Pep Guardiola's reacted to the night's win:
"We are in the final of the Champions League, these are nice words!" - Pep Guardiola reacts to his side making history tonight.#HeinekenUCLLive | #NeverAlone
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 4, 2021
On the contrary, Paris Saint-Germain became the third team to receive a red card in both legs of a Champions League semi-final tie, after Deportivo vs Porto in 2003-04 and Lyon v Bayern Munich in 2009-10.
