Paris (AFP)

By completely missing its second period, Paris Saint-Germain, beaten 2-1 by Manchester City, complicated the road to the Champions League final on Wednesday in the semi-final first leg.

The Parisians will have to seek their qualification in Manchester on Tuesday in the second leg to hope to meet in the final on May 29 in Istanbul the winner of the other semi-final between Real Madrid and Chelsea, whose first act ended in Madrid on Tuesday. on a draw (1-1).

The awakening of Kevin De Bruyne, author of the equalizer (64) and the bankruptcy of the heroes of the quarterfinals precipitated the fall of PSG, which will have to achieve a feat to play a second C1 final in a row.

Keylor Navas, dazzling against Bayern (3-2 / 0-1), was trapped like a beginner on the Belgian's center-shot, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar missed their match, and Idrissa Gana Gueye, huge rake against Munich, was excluded for a muscular intervention on the ankle of Ilkay Gundogan (78).

The Senegalese had also committed just before the foul on Phil Foden which cost the magnificent direct free kick from Ryad Mahrez (71).

In seven minutes, PSG wasted the goal ahead of Marquinhos (15) and his beautiful first period, where he had extinguished the collective game of Man City, far from its standards with 53% of possession.

Dazzling in Munich, Kylian Mbappé was much less lively on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola made sure to leave him fewer spaces than Bayern, where their brace helped eliminate the defending champion.

- Neymar passed by -

Rarely, he missed two checks in the same minute (34), on two good balls, preventing good actions from going to the end.

And on his best number of the match, a series of hooks in the box, he only found Marco Verratti, who threw himself on his cross in front of the line, but does not have the sense of goal of Pippo Inzaghi and did not jump into the right tempo (56).

Neymar, elusive in the quarterback, even if he had not scored, missed his match even more clearly.

The only time he could have been dangerous they got in the way with Alessandro Florenzi (41) ...

Only Angel Di Maria lived up to his reputation as "Fantastic".

It is his corner that gives the goal to the head of Marquinhos.

In passing, "DiMa" equaled Safet Susic with a 103rd assist in the jersey at the Eiffel Tower.

As on the return against Bayern, the Argentinian also defended a lot, even in his area to slow down Foden (53).

Captain Marquinhos also made a successful return.

Left injured on the court side, just after scoring in Munich, the Brazilian returned to the garden side to open the scoring, with a powerful helmet blow from a corner.

Adductors cared for and leadership still intact.

During the previous semi-final of PSG, eight months earlier, it was already he who had paved the way by scoring the first goal against Leipzig (3-0).

- Again De Bruyne -

Captain "Marqui", two goals in the quarter and two in the half in two seasons, had also equalized against Atalanta (2-1) this summer during the Final 8.

The City stars they woke up later, but were lethal.

In the first period, a foot - a little high - from Leandro Paredes in front of Bernardo Silva (33) and the firm fist of Keylor Navas in front of Phil Foden (42) had stopped the dangers of the future champions of England.

Its hosts Ryad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne were a little inside.

The brilliant Belgian tried a return without magic (61).

But City came back much more incisive after the break.

De Bruyne first equalized with a bell-shaped cross left behind by the Parisian hinge like Navas.

He had already martyred the Parisians by scoring in the first leg as well as the return in the quarter-finals of the C1 2016 (2-2 / 1-0).

Then Mahrez brought the Sky Blues closer to their first Champions League final, the one after which Guardiola has been running for five years he has been at the helm.

But there is a return leg and the revenge in play still is.

The Emirati City kept their grip in the duel of the nouveau riche against the Qatari Paris, and "Pep" took the advantage over "Poche", who had eliminated him in the quarterfinals two years ago with Tottenham (1-0 / 3-4).

The triumphal arch drawn in the stands of the Parc des Princes seems very far away ...

© 2021 AFP