Manchester City 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain (4-1 agg): Mahrez double takes Pep's men to Istanbul final

By Sports Desk May 04, 2021

Manchester City ended their wait for a first Champions League final appearance as two more Riyad Mahrez goals saw off 10-man Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday.

Mahrez hit the decisive free-kick in a 2-1 semi-final first-leg victory in Paris and strikes in either half in the return fixture added to that advantage.

Those goals and a dogged defensive effort – after a pre-match hail storm that left a sodden, awkward pitch – were enough to finally take Pep Guardiola's men through to Europe's showpiece match with a 4-1 aggregate triumph.

PSG played their part in another gripping affair, but Kylian Mbappe was only fit enough to make the bench and their frustration resulted in a red card for Angel Di Maria when he kicked out at Fernandinho.

The tricky conditions contributed to the chaos in an eventful opening that saw Oleksandr Zinchenko initially penalised for handball in the City area, only for a VAR review to confirm the ball had instead bounced away off his shoulder.

The indignant full-back was fittingly then involved in the opener. He cut a cross back to Kevin De Bruyne, whose deflected shot skidded to Mahrez for a first-time finish through Keylor Navas' legs from a tight angle.

First-leg scorer Marquinhos climbed highest to head against the City crossbar, before Angel Di Maria curled wide of an open goal soon after with Ederson stranded.

The game still did not settle, but there was at least a lull in the goalmouth action until a pair of Navas saves either side of half-time and then a clinical counter that killed the tie.

Foden offloaded the ball to De Bruyne and took his return pass on the left to send in a low centre that found Mahrez all alone to slam in again.

As in the game in Paris, the Ligue 1 side lost their discipline and Di Maria's dismissal for a stamp on Fernandinho might not have been the only red card.

City sought to punish the visitors further and Foden drilled against the foot of the post, before late changes ensured there would be no unwanted suspensions ahead of a trip to Istanbul.

Related items

  • Manchester United 1-1 Burnley: Late Amdouni penalty earns Burnley deserved point at Old Trafford Manchester United 1-1 Burnley: Late Amdouni penalty earns Burnley deserved point at Old Trafford

    Burnley boosted their Premier League survival hopes after holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

    Zeki Amdouni’s calm late penalty moved Burnley within two points of safety with three games remaining.

    All the Clarets’ hard work appeared to be in vain when Antony broke the deadlock, but they responded well to ensure a hard-earned share of the spoils.

    Burnley remain 19th but are now two points behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest, who host Manchester City on Sunday, while United stay sixth.

    Although David Datro Fofana shot straight at Andre Onana inside the opening 30 seconds, United soon established their authority on proceedings with Christian Eriksen curling just wide and Fernandes rattling Arijanet Muric’s right post as they threatened the opening goal.

    But the hosts had Onana to thank for keeping Burnley at bay as the first half went on. First, he tipped over Wilson Odobert’s long-range effort, before producing a magnificent reflex save to deny Foster.

    Onana kept out Foster again while Alejandro Garnacho fired into the side-netting four minutes before half-time, as both sides returned to their dressing rooms still seeking the breakthrough.

    Garnacho continued to carry United’s greatest threat after the break. The Argentine winger shot narrowly wide after a swift counter, before Muric pushed away his powerful volley from a corner.

    However, the visitors gifted their opponents the opening goal in the 79th minute, as Antony intercepted Sander Berge’s loose pass before racing away and slotting past Muric.

    But there was to be a late twist three minutes from time, when Amdouni coolly rolled home the equaliser from the penalty spot after VAR ruled Onana had fouled the Burnley striker.

    Ton up for Fernandes as United stumble

    United ended their four-game winless streak when they came from behind to beat Sheffield United in midweek.

    However, they have not recorded successive victories since mid-February after Amdouni’s late penalty.

    Bruno Fernandes did his best to rally the hosts, becoming the first player this season to create 100 or more chances.

    It was in vain however, with Erik ten Hag’s side now having failed to keep a clean sheet in six attempts.

    More Old Trafford joy for Kompany

    Vincent Kompany won five of his nine Premier League visits to Old Trafford as a player (56 per cent), with only David Silva enjoying a higher success rate among opposing players with eight or more trips (75 per cent).

    The Belgian was looking to become the third person to triumph here as a player and manager, after Steve Clarke and Mark Hughes.

    While he could not quite achieve that, his side were more than deserving of a point following a spirited display against United.

    Now with only one defeat in their last eight games, the Clarets have made themselves difficult to beat at a crucial time in the season, and they will hope it pays dividends in their quest for survival.

  • Newcastle United 5-1 Sheffield United: Blades relegated after thrashing Newcastle United 5-1 Sheffield United: Blades relegated after thrashing

    Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League following a 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday.

    Alexander Isak netted in both halves as the Magpies came from behind, with Bruno Guimaraes helping to complete the turnaround after Anel Ahmedhodzic's early opener.

    Callum Wilson rounded off the scoring after Ben Osborn's own goal had taken the game away from Chris Wilder's side, sending them back to the Championship.

    Newcastle stay in seventh place, four points above West Ham in eighth, while the Blades sit bottom of the table after a 25th league defeat of the season.

  • Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal

    Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

    Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.

    Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.

    Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.

    His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

    Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances. 

    He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.

    The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.

    That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.