PARIS: Paris St Germain lost their composure and the match as Manchester City took a big step towards their first Champions League final after goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez earned them a 2-1 comeback win away from home in the first leg of their blockbuster semi-final on Wednesday.

Marquinhos had powered in a header to give PSG an early lead and the deserved advantage at half-time at the Parc des Princes but Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost control after the break.

De Bruyne equalised in the 64th minute when goalkeeper Keylor Navas misread his dipping cross and it bounced inside his post and Mahrez’s free kick through a wall that jumped early and left an inviting gap for the Algeria winger completed the turnaround in the 71st.

The second half was much better, the way the first goal went in was a little bit lucky but we played great football in the second half, we did well,” De Bruyne said.

PSG coach Pochettino agreed the visitors were the better team after the interval.

“We deserved the lead, but in the second half they were better than us. Physically they were a little bit more aggressive, it was difficult for us to recover the ball,” Pochettino said. “We’re very disappointed with the two goals. It’s difficult to accept that this happened in the semi-final, its really painful.”

After City’s quick 1-2 punch, PSGs composure soon crumbled, as has often been the case in recent seasons when under pressure. Pochettino’s side finished the game with 10 players as midfielder Idrissa Gueye was shown a red card in the 77th minute for a dangerous tackle on midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

City could have taken a bigger lead into the return leg next Tuesday, but winger Phil Foden shot straight at Navas after a brilliant jinking run through PSG’s flagging defence.

“In football you need to believe,” Pochettino said.“Of course we are under a little bit of pressure, but in football you need to try.”

The French champions will need to show next Tuesday the same away form that enabled them to beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou and Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in previous rounds if they are to progress.

We conceded two stupid goals,” Marquinhos admitted to broadcaster RMC Sport.

Of the return leg, he added: “There is no point in us going there if we don’t believe we can turn it around.”

City coach Pep Guardiola wants his players to stay relaxed for the return leg, rather than thinking about reaching the final for the first time in the club’s history.

“All I want is for us to be ourselves in the second leg,” he said. “We are good playing a certain way, we cannot do it differently. At halftime, I told the players we needed to be ourselves. We needed to be more aggressive and we didn’t let them breathe after the break.

“The last 10 minutes of the first half was good and the second half was excellent in every department. We scored two goals away which is so important, but we have a hard job to do in six days. We still have 90 more minutes to beat them and PSG is a team where anything can happen.”

It is, then, first blood to Emirati-backed City against Qatar-owned PSG in a tie that is also a battle of competing Gulf nations.

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 defeated PSG in the last eight.

City dominated the early possession but PSG were the more dangerous side with Brazilian forward Neymar twice testing City keeper Ederson.

Marquinhos, returning to the team from an injury suffered in the quarter-final first leg against Bayern, put the hosts in front when he timed his run well to meet Angel Di Maria’s whipped corner near the front post in the 15th minute.

City, overly cautious for fear of being punished on the break, were again exposed on a set-piece when Leandro Paredes headed Neymar’s corner just wide.

Guardiola’s side lacked their usual composure, with Joao Cancelo picking up a yellow card for a woeful challenge on Kylian Mbappe.

City’s first real chance came in the 42nd minute when Phil Foden, played infield by Bernardo Silva, shot too close to PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

PSG threatened early in the second half, when Di Maria’s superb pass over the midfield put Kylian Mbappe into space down the right. He twisted inside and out, putting two City defenders on the floor, but his fizzing cross was too strong and eluded his team-mates.

De Bruyne set up City’s late winner in the League Cup final last Sunday and again took time to exert his influence after a brief spell out injured. The Belgium star went close with a shot on the turn that went just over on the hour mark.

Four minutes later, he was mobbed by his relieved teamm-ates when his cross was intended for a teammate’s head but stunned Navas as it bounced past him.

Then he gave the free kick to Mahrez, who grew up in Sarcelles but is another on a long list of talented local players overlooked by PSG over the years.

He spotted a gap as PSG’s wall jumped too early, and a first Champions League final is in sight for Guardiola’s side, who could also seal the Premier League title this weekend.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021