Manchester City qualified for the semi-finals for the first time in their history, as Kevin De Bruyne’s wonderful goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium. The result meant that City went through to the last four via a 3-2 aggregate victory over Laurent Blanc’s side.
We observed each player’s performance and assigned them a rating on a scale from 1-10:
Manchester City
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Joe Hart – 8
He was an invaluable presence for City, making a number of crucial saves to keep his side’s clean sheet intact. He kept out a couple of Ibrahimovic free-kicks, a Thiago Silva header from a corner (which bounced in front of him) and a late Edinson Cavani shot to help his side march into the semi-finals.
Bacary Sagna – 7
The French fullback had a decent game, effectively tracking down Maxwell and Edinson Cavani. He was also involved in City’s attacking pursuits late in the first half and throughout the second half.
Nicolas Otamendi – 7.5
The Argentine centre-half – who was largely untroubled in the first half – was up to the task in the second half as he dealt with pretty much everything thrown into the box.
Eliaquim Mangala – 8
He answered his critics with one of his best displays of the season. His decision making – something he has been under scrutiny for throughout the season – was nearly flawless as he committed to a series of tackles and danger clearing passes to ensure City did not provide PSG with a clear goal-scoring chance.
He played the offside trap against Ibrahimovic brilliantly to deny him from finding the back of the net.
Gael Clichy – 7.5
Clichy was up to the challenge of keeping Gregory van der Wiel and Lucas Moura at bay in either half, not allowing them to make those dashes towards the byline.
Fernandinho – 7
Despite a couple of errors in tackling, the Brazilian midfielder still made sure PSG did not boss the midfield during the first half with his accurate positioning. He even made a couple of vital interceptions to break PSG’s plays.
Fernando – 8
What a turnaround from the first leg for Fernando. He was absolutely tireless in the middle of the park – shutting out the likes of Angel Di Maria thanks to some excellent tackles and vital interceptions to frustrate the French champions.
Jesus Navas – 7.5
Like in the first game, Navas started the game in great fashion, dashing down the right side and planting dangerous crosses into the box. He was briefly subdued after that, but once again found himself in the thick of things in the second half, when City were forcing attack after attack.
Kevin De Bruyne – 9
The Belgian attacking midfielder showed everyone why he was worth more than 50 million pounds with a scintillating performance. He was the heart and soul of City’s attacking index, feeding the wingers with some good passes and taking PSG ‘s defenders on one after the other. His finish to put City in front in the tie was world-class – no goalkeeper in the world was going to save that.
David Silva – 7.5
The Spanish playmaker – playing to the left of De Bruyne – had a much better outing this time around. He was the link between Fernandinho in central midfield to De Bruyne in the attacking third. His vision and deft touches were keys to City churning out goal-scoring opportunities.
Sergio Aguero – 6.5
A missed penalty, no shots on target, an injury scare – an overall frustrating night for the Argentine striker. He did have a couple of bright moments – winning the penalty he eventually missed was one of them.
Substitutes
Yaya Toure – 7
His introduction brought a calming influence to City’s midfield following the goal. That helped them shut up shop and see the game through.
Fabian Delph and Kelechi Iheanacho – N/A
Both were introduced in the dying moments to replace some worn-out legs.
Paris Saint-Germain
Kevin Trapp – 6.5
He guessed the right way for Aguero’s penalty and made a couple of important catches from indirect free-kicks. There was nothing he could do to stop De Bruyne’s shot from going in.
Serge Aurier – 6.5
He found himself playing on either side of a 3-man defence in the first half and eventually ended up at centre-back to accommodate Lucas Moura. He did make a lot of good passes as part of PSG’s build-up play in the first half. Defensively, he found the going pretty tough trying to handle David Silva’s guile and De Bruyne’s intensity. A tough night for the youngster.
Thiago Silva – 7.5
The skipper made a number of interceptions and clearances to stop crosses from finding the desired target. He nearly scored from a corner with a smart header, only for Hart to tip it over.
Marquinhos – 7
Like Aurier, he was another individual who had to shift position from the left side of a 3-man defence to central midfield to help PSG shape up following Lucas Moura’s introduction. He managed to absorb the pressure coming from Jesus Navas on the wing, following which he attempted to set PSG on their way with some mindful passing.
Gregory van der Wiel – 6
There was no quality whatsoever coming from the Dutchman on the right wing. He was well marshalled by Clichy and was never really allowed to get an upper hand in the duel.
Adrien Rabiot – 7
The sole Frenchman to start for PSG was energetic for the French side, bringing the ball forward and working it around the City penalty box. However, City’s solidity at the back and Fernando’s alertness in midfield made sure Rabiot was left a hapless man at the end of the game.
Thiago Motta – 6.5
An unfortunate thigh injury forced the Italian to some off towards the end of the first half. Till then, his passing from the back was pretty confident.
Angel Di Maria – 6.5
It was a quiet night for the Argentine on his first return to Manchester since leaving City’s rivals Manchester United in the summer. He attempted to force a meaningful chance for PSG with his quick-footed dribbling but found Fernando a tough brick wall to break. His corner kicks were also futile and easily dealt with by City.
Maxwell – 6
His performance can be rated on the same scale as Van der Wiel’s. No quality in crosses or flank runs.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6.5
Apart from a couple of belting free-kicks which were kept out by Hart, Ibrahimovic had yet another disappointing night against an English club to reflect on. He did have the ball in the back of the net but was miles offside.
Edinson Cavani – 6
He did have a couple of half-chances but was thwarted by Hart on one occasion and by Fernando on another. He failed to conjure up anything special for his side in a bid to get those away goals.
Substitutions
Lucas Moura – 6.5
The pacey winger was introduced for an injured Thiago Motta, forcing PSG to re-shape from a 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3. Once he came on, PSG did display a few moments of urgency on the ball owing to this pace. However, he too was kept quiet by a very impressive and non-compromisable Gael Clichy.
Javier Pastore – 6
He replaced Serge Aurier for the last half an hour in PSG’s bid to get attacking bodies forward, but his impact was subdued.
