John Stones MCFC Man City
John Stones and Vincent Kompany Man City

Man City made a superb comeback from 1-0 down to beat PSG 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. And these two away goals have firmly put the Premier League side in the driver’s seat.

In the build-up to the game, all the talk was about Neymar and Mbappe taking on Man City’s defence but in the end, it was Marquinhos who scored PSG’s only goal in the night.

In the last round, the pairing of Ruben Dias and John Stones managed to keep Erling Haaland under the radar and on Wednesday, they did the same with Neymar and Mbappe. And according to Owen Hargreaves, while everyone keeps raving about Manchester City’s attacking prowess, no one really gives enough credit to their defensive rigidity.

‘I don’t think people give Pep enough credit for the fact he has one of the best defences in Europe,’ he said on BT Sport after the game, as quoted by The Daily Mail.

‘They have conceded the fewest goals this season in the Premier League.

‘Everyone talks about Pep and possession and the attacking football, but they are playing without a centre-forward and they are the highest-scoring team in the Premier League this season.

‘They made Erling Haaland who is an absolute goal machine look pretty normal, which I have not seen anybody do.

‘Even Mbappe and Neymar today, they had good moments in the game, but City with John Stones and Ruben Dias really had them under control, so credit Pep. Defensively they are one of the best teams in Europe, possession-wise they control games and they can then pick teams off.

‘I think next week they could be even better from open play, and if they are then they are too good for everyone.’

Man City once again played with a false-nine which helped them dominate the midfield areas. And both Mbappe and Neymar were tied down to only making wasteful runs throughout the match.

The PSG pair had only 95 cumulative touches throughout the match and most of them were in and around the middle of the pitch. Also, in a game where they were supposed to be the central figure, Neymar managed only two shots on target while Mbappe did not conjure up any.

Man City have surely put one foot in the final of the Champions League with this 2-1 win but there’s still a lot of work to be done in the second leg, especially since PSG very much have the capability of scoring two or more goal with the firepower they have up front.

Neymar & Mbappe's touches vs Man City
Neymar & Mbappe’s touches vs Man City

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