Man City ousts PSG to reach first Champions League final

Manchester, May 05 (AP): By the time Riyad Mahrez completed the counterattack that sealed Manchester City’s spot in a first Champions League final, it looked so effortless overcoming a Paris Saint-Germain lineup that lost its cool and composure. “Then they lost their nerve and started to kick us and it was good,” Mahrez said.
It was the Paris-born winger who netted twice before PSG had Angel Di Maria sent off. City won 2-0 to eliminate last season’s finalists 4-1 on aggregate on Tuesday. “They had the red card, Mahrez said, “and after, it was more comfortable for us.”
It’s been anything but comfortable for City getting a shot at lifting European football’s top prize for the first time despite 13 years of lavish investment. Even reaching this semifinal required a fight in court to overturn a ban from this season’s Champions League for breaching UEFA’s financial rules. And it’s only two weeks since the Abu Dhabi-owned team exposed itself to fresh sanctions for joining a brief, ill-fated bid to split to help form a breakaway European Super League.
Now City could win the competition it tried to leave in what could be an all-English final on May 29 in Istanbul if Chelsea overcomes Real Madrid on Wednesday. Chelsea and Madrid played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
“Of course, we’ve invested money in the last decade since Sheikh Mansour took over the club, but it’s not just about this,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “If you want to think it’s just about money, it’s OK. But there is a lot of incredible things behind the scenes.”
It’s not just City that’s endured frustration in its quest to win the biggest prize in European football. Guardiola, a Champions League winner as Barcelona coach in 2009 and 2011, has been waiting a decade to return to the final.
He fell short three times with Bayern Munich and has taken until his fifth season at City to even reach the semifinals. “To reach the Champions league final is so difficult,” Guardiola said. “It’s the toughest one, but we did it.”