In a bid to cement their place in the Champions League final, powered by a Riyad Mahrez free-kick, Manchester City stitched a comeback to win 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the semi-final on Wednesday.

While PSG, deservingly racked up an early lead, after the break, the French side completely seemed to lose the plot as Pep Guardiola’s side grabbed two valuable away goals.

From a Marquinhos’ header, PSG opened the scoring at the 15-minute mark, but the Sky Blues dominated the second half and goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Mahrez turned the game on its head. 

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City skipper Kevin De Bruyne’s cross, which missed everyone including keeper Keylor Navas, nestled in the far corner as City pulled level just after the hour mark.

After grabbing the goal, the visitors had momentum on their side, and Mahrez then beat Navas from a 71st-minute free-kick to complete the turnaround.

Mahrez, born and brought up in the Paris suburbs, curled a low strike from 25 metres through the wall and beyond the reach of Navas.

Meanwhile, PSG were faced with another thumping blow when defensive midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye was sent off late on, however, they avoided conceding a third to keep their hopes alive ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg in Manchester.

Things got worse for the home side soon after as Gueye was dismissed by German referee Felix Brych for a nasty challenge that caught Gundogan on the Achilles.

Guardiola’s side can already smell their first Champions League final as they are on track to wrap up the Premier League title this weekend.

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After all the money pumped in by their owners from Abu Dhai, City are eyeing a first-ever Champions League final, and this was their first appearance in the semi-finals since 2016, when they were knocked out by Real Madrid.

However, PSG can still be optimistic about their prospects after sensational away performances against Barcelona and Bayern in the last two rounds.

PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino is hoping to once again get the better of Guardiola, just as he did when his Tottenham Hotspur side beat City in the quarter-finals in 2019.