Man City 1-0 PSG (Agg: 3-2): Kevin De Bruyne strike gives City unprecedented semi-final spot
Manchester City reached the Champions League semi-final with a 3-2 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain following a 1-0 second-leg victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute curling effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards put the game beyond the French champions, saving Sergio Aguero’s blushes after his first-half penalty miss.
Aguero had shot wide after being brought down by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp during a first period dominated by the hosts, while Joe Hart kept hold of City’s advantage in the second-half with saves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani.
The result means City will appear in their first European semi-final since the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup, and the Premier League side will find out their opponents in Friday’s draw in Nyon.
Yaya Toure stayed on the bench for City, who brought back five players after the 2-1 win over West Brom at the weekend, while PSG were again without key midfielder Marco Verratti.
With the score at 2-2 from the first leg, PSG settled after a frantic start, Ibrahimovic forcing Hart into the first save of the game with a fierce 30-yard free-kick.
Aguero then had two half-chances to give City a further advantage, first shooting wide from an angle after De Bruyne’s through ball, before missing Trapp’s post by a yard from just outside the area.
The first-half’s big talking point came just before the half-hour mark when Aguero was brought down by Trapp’s trailing leg inside the area. The penalty was given, but despite protests from the City players for a red card, the PSG goalkeeper was only shown a yellow by Spanish referee Velasco Carballo.
Aguero stepped up to take, but shot low and wide past Trapp’s left-hand post as PSG were let off.
Jesus Navas shot wide in space from 20 yards as City ended the half strongest, but Ibrahimovic again forced Hart into a good save from a 25-yard free-kick minutes after the break.
The England goalkeeper then stretched to tip over Silva’s close-range header into the ground from a Lucas Moura corner, and as the minutes passed and PSG pressed, City were restricted to infrequent counter attacks.
But De Bruyne, who scored the opener in Paris, gave City the 3-2 advantage with 14 minutes remaining, curling into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box after being teed up by Fernando.
Hart was again at his best moments later to deny Cavani having broke free of the City defence, after Aguero had come within inches of making it 2-0 on the night with a long-range effort.
Source:Skysports
