After knocking down Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain receives Manchester City this Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

To hope to take an option in the final before moving to England, the Parisians will have to obtain a good result during this meeting with multiple stakes.

PSG is attacking a new giant in European football. After eliminating FC Barcelona in the round of 16 and defending Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, the Parisians welcome Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. the great Manchester City of Pep Guardiola in the semi-finals of the Champions League, at Princes Park. The Citizens, intractable leaders of the Premier League, probably play the most beautiful game on the continent at the moment, with an XXL squad studded with stars (De Bruyne, Sterling, Mahrez, Gündogan ...). 

But this clash goes beyond the simple framework of sport between two "new rich" who are still seeking their first success in the most prestigious of club competitions, nearly ten years after their takeover, respectively by the Qataris in Paris and the Emiratis in City.

Europe 1 brings you the challenges of this long-awaited shock. 

>> The semi-final first leg of PSG-City can be watched live and in full on Europe 1 from 8 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. and on Europe1.fr 

Conquering their first Champions League

PSG finds City five years after its elimination in the quarter-finals by the same team (2-2, 0-1), in April 2016, and this famous tactical move in 3-5-2 missed by the coach at the time , Laurent Blanc.

But if since water has flowed under the bridges, the two teams are still in search of a title in the prestigious Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain, for its part, is back in the last four of the competition for the third time (after 1995 and last year) in its history.

A great success since only Monaco has done better among French clubs in the history of the competition, qualifying four times.

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The Citizens qualified by winning against Borussia Dortmund (2-1, 1-2).

Before this quarter-final, the English had conceded only one goal since the start of the edition, during the first match of the group stage.

A remarkable performance for the (broad) leaders of the Premier League, who will want to erase the trauma of their surprise elimination last year in the quarter-finals by ... Lyon, in Lisbon (3-1), during the Final 8. Un another French club had also eliminated the City of Pep Guardiola: Monaco, in the round of 16 in 2017 (3-5, 3-1), with at the time two goals from a young prodigy named Kylian Mbappé (one at the go and one on the way back).

The English have been warned. 

A duel of coaches 

This meeting between PSG and Manchester City will also be the occasion for a reunion between Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola, two coaches who have already faced each other on numerous occasions. Indeed, their respective teams have met 18 times in twelve years. Before this meeting, Pochettino was also full of praise in the English press on his opponent. "Pep Guardiola is, for me, the best coach in the world. I admire him. He always thinks about different strategies and game plans. I like to challenge him. I like to challenge the teams he has prepared," a he declared. But after admiration, make way for the ego.

Because the duel of this Wednesday is for the time being to the advantage of the Catalan Pep Guardiola.

First in the Spanish league, where his former Barça team won five times against Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino's Espanyol, against a defeat.

Then in the Premier League then with Manchester City, which has chained four wins and two draws against Tottenham, the former club of his opponent.

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But in the Champions League things are a bit different and the Catalan has had a series of disappointments with City, like the elimination last year against Lyon.

And during the quarter-finals of the 2018-2019 edition, Tottenham had snatched the victory against Qux Skyblues after a completely crazy second leg (4-3), thus leaving the team of Pep Guardiola.

The advantage is therefore to the coach of PSG on this ground, which asks only to write its history in C1 and to leave once again the Citizens.

Diplomatic rivalry

At first glance, it has nothing to do with football, and yet. PSG, owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), finds Manchester City in the hands of its "best enemy" in the Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates and the Abu Dhabi United Group. Two competing Gulf states which are engaged in a major struggle for influence in sport. "Golfico", "Cashico", "Abou Derby" ... Social networks are still considering the nickname to give to this rivalry which goes beyond the sporting framework.

Apart from their common obsession to win their first Champions League, these two "nouveau riche" share many similarities.

Yet a long antagonism separates the two Gulf neighbors, who saw their rivalry turn into a regional crisis in June 2017 when the Emirates, alongside Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, a rupture accompanied by economic measures. 

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- PSG, an instrument more political than sporting for Qatar?

If the reconciliation recorded in January made it possible to get Qatar out of isolation after three and a half years and to promote appeasement, things are still not looking good. And in this meeting between PSG and City, it is also a question of image and prestige. Because one thing is certain, it is out of the question for the Emirates to relive the "humiliation" of the semi-final of the Asian Nations Cup, which saw Qatar win 4-0 in Abu Dhabi.