Manchester City put in one of their most impressive away performances of late as they came from behind to earn a highly deserved 2-2 draw against French champions PSG at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring for the Manchester club with a neat finish, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised following a horrible error by Fernando. PSG then took the lead at 59 minutes when Adrien Rabiot coolly slotted home after Joe Hart parried Edinson Cavani’s header straight into his path.
City were rewarded for their persistence 12 minutes later when Fernandinho capitalised on some poor defending by Serge Aurier and Thiago Silva to grab the equaliser off a deflected shot.
City – with 2 away goals in the bag and PSG defender David Luiz suspended for the second leg – have a massive opportunity to get the desired result at the Etihad next Tuesday and make it to the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in their history.
Here’s a look at each player’s performance and their assigned ratings:
Paris Saint Germain
Kevin Trapp – 6.5
He made just a single save the entire game. He could have been tested more but for some average Manchester City shooting – David Silva’s mistimed header being one of them.
Serge Aurier – 6.5
The young right-back had a decent outing down the flanks, making a couple of dangerous runs to keep Gael Clichy on his toes. Defensively, however, he still has his problems – failing to clear Bacary Sagna’s cross, resulting in the ball coming straight into the path of Fernandinho, whose shot went in via. a deflection.
Thiago Silva – 7
PSG’s captain, along with Aurier, can also be held responsible for not clearing away the danger after Aurier could not deal with Sagna’s cross – leading in City’s second. Overall it was an impressive game for SIlva, making some robust tackles to sustain City’s pressure.
David Luiz – 6.5
He was put under pressure from the very first minute, taking a booking for hauling down a goal-bound Aguero. He won the penalty which was saved by Joe Hart, although replays suggested that he had initiated contact by Bacary Sagna. He should have dealt with Fernandinho’s pass to Kevin de Bruyne which led to the goal.
He did, however, win most of his aerial duels and read Manchester City’s through balls into the box. It was an up and down game for the Brazilian who will not be making the trip to Manchester due to card accumulation.
Maxwell – 6.5
The veteran left-back – who may well be playing his last season at PSG – did show some signs of age catching with him as he struggled to get a foothold on the game. He was made to run around like a headless chicken trying to break the partnership between Jesus Navas and Kevin de Bruyne on the right.
He did play a vital role going up, making a number of good crosses to keep the Manchester City defence on high alert.
Adrien Rabiot – 7
It was a very impressive performance from the 21-year old right central midfielder. He completed nearly all of his passes, allowing di Maria to surge forward and launch PSG’s attacks. He reacted quickest to Hart’s save from Cavani’s header to slot home and put PSG 2-1 up.
Thiago Motta – 7.5
It was yet another solid performance in the heart of PSG’s midfield, completing more than a 100 passes to ensure PSG didn’t lose possession in dangerous areas.
Blaise Matuidi – 6
The Frenchman had an uncharacteristically quiet night, losing the ball on regular occasions and being ineffective with his crossing. His mistakes meant that PSG were forced to initiate their attacks from the right rather than from the left.
Angel di Maria – 7.5
The Argentine was an electric figure throughout the game. His deft touches to unsettle the City defence, his fleet-footed dribbling and set-piece deliveries were there for everyone to admire. He seems to be a changed footballer after an ill-fated season at Manchester United.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6.5
Ibra had a wasteful night in front of goal, first having his spot-kick saved by Hart and then blazing the ball over the bar while one-on-one with City’s goalkeeper. His goal off a Fernando error would have given him a huge sigh of relief. He missed yet another chance in the second half, heading a di Maria cross onto the bar after beating Bacary Sagna in the air.
Edinson Cavani – 6.5
To be fair to him, he was starved of service thanks to Matuidi’s under-performance and had to rely on Motta from the middle or Maxwell from fullback to get himself involved in the game. His powerful header in the 59th minute which was saved by Hart and turned in by Rabiot was his only attempt on target.
He even fluffed the rebound from Ibrahimovic’s effort which thumped the woodwork.
Substitutes
Gergory van der Wiel – 6.5
He was impressive in the 12 minutes he was on the pitch, making a couple of interceptions and passing the ball around well to ensure PSG didn’t suffer any hiccups at the end of the game.
Lucas Moura – 6
He came on along with van der Wiel but did not do anything significant to impact his side’s performance.
Manchester City
Joe Hart – 8
His penalty save from Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the talking point throughout the game and coud well be crucial to City’s chances of entering the semi-finals. He was helpless to stop Ibrahimovic’s lucky goal and could only parry Cavani’s header into the path of Adrien Rabiot for the second goal.
Bacary Sagna – 6
Defensively he was quite vulnerable, getting beaten in the air by Ibrahimovic and Cavani while dealing with crosses. He didn’t offer much going forward too, though his only cross resulted in City’s equaliser following some uninspired defending by the French champions.
Nicklas Otamendi – 7
The ex-Valencia man used his height and strength to keep Ibrahimovic at bay by making those aerial clearances. He could not be faulted for any of City’s goals.
Eliaquim Mangala – 6.5
He continues to struggle with his positioning this season. He allowed Matuidi to run clear at goal, only to be allegedly hauled down. He could be deemed lucky that the referee decided that it wasn’t a clear penalty, for had he did, it would have been an early bath for the Frenchman.
He redeemed himself by making some timely clearances, but his lack of awareness of on-rushing opposition team players will worry Pellegrini.
Gael Clichy – 6.5
Keeping Angel di Maria quiet was always going to be a difficult task and Clichy felt the heat against the Argentine. He did make a few crucial interceptions to prevent PSG from getting too many clear opportunities at goal. Going up, he delivered a couple of crosses into the box, none of which tried the PSG defenders. He was also not helped by the fact that he had to partner an out of position David Silva on the left flank.
Fernandinho – 8
In the absence of Yaya Toure, it was Fernandinho who played the box-to-box midfielder’s role, initiating City’s attacks with some good feeding play to the wingers. He surged forward before making the crucial pass to de Bruyne for City’s opening goal. He was himself on the scoresheet in the second half, albeit it was off a deflection. A memorable night for the Brazilian.
Fernando – 6
He will be kicking himself at having lost his composure in the 41st minute trying to side-foot the ball out of the penalty box – only for the ball to ricochet off Ibrahimovic and roll into an empty net. He did make a couple of tackles to impede PSG’s surge forward, but it was that error that might end up costing City the tie.
Jesus Navas – 7
He was a daunting figure down the right wing in the first half, linking up with Kevin de Bruyne and making life difficult for Maxwell. His delightful cross midway through the first half warranted a goal, but David Silva failed to get his bio-mechanics right to direct his header towards goal. He tapered off as the second half progressed.
Kevin de Bruyne – 8
It was an immense performance from the Belgian attacking midfielder. He was out of the blocks right from the first minute, making those cutting through-passes he is so adroit at and giving City’s defence a tough time with his set-pieces. His movement continuously put PSG’s defenders to test – showing everyone why his services were missed so much by Man City over the past 2 months.
David Silva – 6.5
The Spanish playmaker looked slightly out of position on the left wing when he would rather find himself in a central role behind the striker. Having been constrained of space which ne normally gets in the middle, he was not really able to get going with his ball movement around the PSG penalty area. He lost out on the ball on many occasions despite creating a couple of good chances.
Sergio Aguero – 7
No goals for Aguero, but nonetheless it was a lively performance from him. He did everything but score – skipping past opponents, getting into good goal-scoring positions and drawing fouls. If he can take this form back home next week and add some goals to his name, there’s no reason why City can’t see themselves into the last four for the first time in their history.
Substitutes:
Fabian Delph – 6.5
He replaced a wonderful Kevin de Bruyne after 77 minutes. He did make a good account for himself, completing passes and successfully dribbling past an opponent with his only attempt.
Wilfried Bony and Aleksandar Kolarov – N/A
Both of them had no time to make a mark.
