With France conquered yet again, Paris Saint-Germain now set their sights on achieving European domination. The French outfit brushed aside a dangerous Chelsea team in the round of 16 with help from the in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic. PSG also received a nice slice of luck by drawing in the quarterfinals a Manchester City side that has been struggling mightily with injuries of late.
But the English team should not be underestimated by any means, as the ousted Dynamo Kiev can attest. Can they pull off another big upset in the quarterfinals? Read on for an in-depth breakdown of this Champions League quarterfinal first leg. And get ready for Wednesday’s other first leg tie with our preview of Real Madrid vs. Wolfsburg.
French giants Paris Saint-Germain have been untouchable on the domestic front this season. They have already secured their fourth successive Ligue 1 title this campaign with PSG enjoying a massive 25-point lead over second place Monaco with still six games left to play. They are also through to the French Cup semifinal after demolishing AS Saint-Etienne, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round.
But after years of underachieving in the Champions League, PSG are looking very formidable in that competition as well. They were excellent over two legs against Chelsea, sweeping aside the 2012 champions 4-2 on aggregate. Zlatan Ibrahimovic settled the tie with a well-taken goal in the 67th minute of the second leg encounter. He has been a vital cog in PSG’s European success this season, scoring four goals and dishing out four assists in this year’s competition.
Ibrahimovic has been in glorious form in Ligue 1 as well, scoring 30 goals and recording 11 assists in just 24 appearances for PSG this season. He will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing a Manchester City defense that will be missing the services of captain Vincent Kompany who’s out with a calf problem.
PSG have won three of their four home outings in Europe this season, with only 10-time champions Real Madrid avoiding defeat at the Parc des Princes this campaign. Their last Champions League home defeat came at the hands of defending champions Barcelona in the quarterfinal stage last season.
The long wait is finally over. Manchester City finally secured their first quarterfinal appearance in Europe’s biggest club competition with a gritty 3-1 aggregate win over Dynamo Kiev in the round of 16. City’s 3-1 first leg win against Dynamo Kiev at Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex all but sealed their place in the quarters. It was a historic victory for the Citizens who grabbed their first ever win in a European Cup/Champions League knockout match.
Things are bound to get tougher, though, for Manchester City as standing in their way in the quarterfinals are Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Premier League opposition, all of which have come against Chelsea. In fact, PSG have not lost to an English side at the Parc des Princes since September 2004.
To make matters worse for the Citizens, injuries are ravaging their squad as we speak. Manager Manuel Pellegrini will be without a number of key players in Paris with Raheem Sterling (groin), Fabian Delph (Achilles) and captain Vincent Kompany (calf) missing today’s crunch clash against PSG. Yaya Toure is also a major doubt for this first-leg tie with the Ivorian experiencing a heel problem.
That being said, the Citizens will still fancy their chances of getting a result in today’s match. Manchester City have won three of their four away fixtures in the Champions League this campaign, only falling at the hands of Italian champions Juventus this season. Their vaunted attacking trio of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne will also play together tonight for the first time in two months. Aguero has scored 13 goals in the 10 games that he has played alongside Silva and de Bruyne this season.
Writer’s Prediction
PSG (-163) ease past an undermanned Manchester City side, 2-0.
