Manchester City confirmed their place in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League Final at the expense of Paris Saint Germain. Riyad Mahrez scored twice for the Citizens, but he was unhappy with the treatment he and his teammates received at the hands of their opponents.
A Riyad Mahrez brace secured Manchester City’s berth in the UEFA Champions League Final. The Algerian scored in both halves to lead his team to a 4-1 aggregate win over last season’s finalists, Paris Saint Germain. The Parisians had Angel Di Maria sent off for deliberately kicking at Fernandinho.
Mahrez was unhappy with the treatment City received from their opponents on the night. The match-winner accused the opponents of losing their nerve in the second half, following which they turned aggressive.
“It was a very good game. We didn’t start well again – we didn’t have a good first half but we got the goal, and we were more comfortable,”
“We played well second half, and we could have scored more. They lost their nerve and started to kick us, and after the red card it was more comfortable.”
he told BT Sport.
Meanwhile, Mahrez also revealed that the move which led to the first goal was rehearsed in training. It kicked off with Ederson playing a long ball out to Phil Foden before Mahrez put the finishing touches on the move.
“Of course, Ederson’s long pass was planned. We know he is capable of putting the ball in the other goal, and we work it all the time and today it worked,”
he said.
Pep Guardiola’s team survived an early scare in the match when a PSG penalty was overturned by the VAR. The referee initially pointed to the spot after Oleksandr Zinchenko was deemed to have handled the ball. However, replays showed that the ball came off his shoulder, and the decision was reversed. City used that as a springboard to go and score a goal of their own, putting further distance between themselves and their opponents.
Manchester City made it through to their first Champions League Final by beating PSG in both legs. They will face either Chelsea or Real Madrid in the trophy clash, with the score tied at 1-1 after the first leg.
