Man City in driving seat after Paris draw

AFP, PARIS: Away goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho handed Manchester City a 2-2 first-leg draw at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to give the English side the edge in their Champions League quarter-final tie.
On a night that will be remembered for some comical defending and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty that was saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart, the Premier League side twice punished mistakes by their hosts.
De Bruyne put City ahead on 38 minutes, only for Ibrahimovic to level after an embarrassing mix-up in the visitors’ defence soon after.
Adrien Rabiot then put PSG ahead just before the hour, but Fernandinho made it 2-2 on 72 minutes and ensured the French giants will be chasing the tie in next Tuesday’s second leg.
“It was a crazy game and we played our part in a great game of football,” Hart told BT Sport.
“It’s up to us to make the away goals count. We are making history for the club and we don’t want it to end.”
Meanwhile, PSG coach Laurent Blanc admitted his side will have to improve if they are to progress now.
“Two mistakes allowed Man City to score goals that are, as you know, very important away from home. That’s our biggest regret,” he said.
“I think we conceded goals from the only two chances they had but we could have scored three or four ourselves.”
City were appearing at this stage for the first time and were handicapped by the absences of injured captain Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Raheem Sterling.
However, Hart had recovered from injury in time to play and De Bruyne started after making his own comeback from two months on the sidelines at the weekend, giving the English side’s attack a fearsome look.
PSG, conquerors of Chelsea in the last 16, feared Sergio Aguero the most, though, and the Argentinian striker coaxed a yellow card out of David Luiz inside 20 seconds after getting in behind the Brazilian.
The home support were furious soon after when Serbian referee Milorad Mazic refused to give Paris a penalty after Blaise Matuidi went down in the box under pressure from Eliaquim Mangala, but PSG did win a spot-kick in the 13th minute for a foul by Bacary Sagna on Luiz.
Ibrahimovic stepped up, but was thwarted by Hart, who dived low to his right to make the save.
Perhaps the 34-year-old Swede was feeling the pressure in what could be his last chance to win the Champions League, because he passed up another huge opportunity midway through the first half, blazing over after a Thiago Motta pass split the away defence.

Man City in driving seat after Paris draw

AFP, PARIS: Away goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho handed Manchester City a 2-2 first-leg draw at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to give the English side the edge in their Champions League quarter-final tie. On a night that will be remembered for some comical defending and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty that was saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart, the Premier League side twice punished mistakes by their hosts. De Bruyne put City ahead on 38 minutes, only for Ibrahimovic to level after an embarrassing mix-up in the visitors defence soon after. Adrien Rabiot then put PSG ahead just before the hour, but Fernandinho made it 2-2 on 72 minutes and ensured the French giants will be chasing the tie in next Tuesdays second leg. It was a crazy game and we played our part in a great game of football, Hart told BT Sport. Its up to us to make the away goals count. We are making history for the club and we dont want it to end. Meanwhile, PSG coach Laurent Blanc admitted his side will have to improve if they are to progress now. Two mistakes allowed Man City to score goals that are, as you know, very important away from home. Thats our biggest regret, he said. I think we conceded goals from the only two chances they had but we could have scored three or four ourselves. City were appearing at this stage for the first time and were handicapped by the absences of injured captain Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Raheem Sterling. However, Hart had recovered from injury in time to play and De Bruyne started after making his own comeback from two months on the sidelines at the weekend, giving the English sides attack a fearsome look. PSG, conquerors of Chelsea in the last 16, feared Sergio Aguero the most, though, and the Argentinian striker coaxed a yellow card out of David Luiz inside 20 seconds after getting in behind the Brazilian. The home support were furious soon after when Serbian referee Milorad Mazic refused to give Paris a penalty after Blaise Matuidi went down in the box under pressure from Eliaquim Mangala, but PSG did win a spot-kick in the 13th minute for a foul by Bacary Sagna on Luiz. Ibrahimovic stepped up, but was thwarted by Hart, who dived low to his right to make the save. Perhaps the 34-year-old Swede was feeling the pressure in what could be his last chance to win the Champions League, because he passed up another huge opportunity midway through the first half, blazing over after a Thiago Motta pass split the away defence.