Mahrez fires City to first Champions League final

Riyad Mahrez scored twice against 10-man Paris Saint-Germain to send Manchester City through to the Champions League final for the first time with a 4-1 aggregate victory.

The Algerian winger was the match-winner as City produced a superb performance in Paris last week and proved to be again with close range finishes either side of half-time as Pep Guardiola’s side delivered another outstanding display.

Mahrez got City off to a dream start as he reacted quickest to Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected shot to slide the ball under Keylor Navas from a tight angle in the 11th minute and he rounded off a memorable night just past the hour mark when he tapped in Phil Foden’s cross at the far post to finish off a slick counter-attack.

It was no more than City deserved for a controlled performance in a feisty encounter and PSG again ended the game with 10-men as Angel Di Maria received a straight red card for kicking out at Fernandinho.

For all the night belonged to Guardiola’s men, it was not without its scares.

PSG saw penalty – awarded for a suspected handball by Oleksandr Zinchenko – overturned with the scores at 0-0, whilst Marquinhos sent a header crashing against the bar and Di Maria curled a 20-yard effort inches wide when Ederson was caught out of position.

But despite the best efforts of Mauricio Pochettino’s side, City held firm, with John Stones and Ruben Dias producing a number of crucial blocks as we booked our place in the final where we’ll face Real Madrid or Chelsea.

City set new English record en route to maiden Champions League final

Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain means we have set a new record for the longest winning run by an English side in Europe’s elite club competition.

MATCH DETAILS:

Manchester City (2): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Rúben Dias, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva (Sterling, 82’), Gündogan; Mahrez, Foden (Agüero, 85’), De Bruyne (Gabriel Jesus, 82’)

PSG (0): Keylor Navas; Florenzi (Dagba, 75’), Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Diallo (Bakker, 82’); Ander Herrera (Draxler, 62’), Paredes (Danilo, 75’); Di María, Verratti, Neymar; Icardi (Kean, 62’)

Goals: 1-0, Mahrez (10’), 2-0, Mahrez (63’)

Referee: Björn Kuipers. Bookings: Ander Herrera (22’), Verratti (71’), Zinchenko (71’), De Bruyne (74’), Kimpembe (87’), Danilo (89’). Sent off: Di María (68’)