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De Bruyne screamer seals Man City’s seat in semi-finals at expense of poor PSG

| 13.04.2016
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Sam Barnard, Assistant Sports Editor | April 12, 2016

Manchester City 1-0 PSG (City win 3-2 on aggregate)

  • Hart saved well from two Zlatan free-kicks
  • Aguero put a penalty well wide after Trapp foul
  • Late De Bruyne curler sealed City’s place in semis

City earn first CL semis berth

Manchester City are through to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history, after a 3-2 aggregate win over PSG.

A 0-0 draw at the Etihad would’ve been enough for the Citizens to qualify, but Kevin De Bruyne’s delightful late effort ensured that the home crowd would endure a relatively nerveless final 15 minutes.

Britain Soccer Champions League

PSG had a couple of set-piece chances from their main man Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but in the end City deserved their victory after playing the better football on the night, though can thank Joe Hart for some crucial saves along the way.

Hosts quickly out the blocks

Manuel Pellegrini’s men certainly put the pressure on during the early stages of the match, but were unable to penetrate PSG’s makeshift defence, consisting of Serge Aurier at centre half in a back-five with David Luiz suspended.

But it was the visitors who had the first real effort on goal, through the one and only Ibrahimovic in the 17th minute after powering a free-kick over the wall and on target. Hart was on hand to tip over the bar, though.

Manchester City vs Paris Saint Germain - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final - Etihad Stadium

Sergio Aguero threatened to put his side ahead minutes later, having two decent chances, but both times he was just wide of the keeper Kevin Trapp’s right post.

The Argentine was soon handed a straightforward chance to open the scoring, as Trapp had a moment of madness to foul the superstar striker in the area to cause a penalty and earn a yellow card.

Aguero lucky not to pay for penalty miss

Up stepped Aguero, after virtually no complaints from the PSG players, but once again he was off-target, completely missing the goal low to the keeper’s left post.

Manchester City v Paris St Germain - UEFA Champions League - Etihad Stadium

Jesus Navas was lively for much of the first-half and came close to finding the net five minutes before the half-time whistle.

PSG were ineffective in attack for the first 45 minutes, but Ibrahimovic had another free-kick early after the break. Again, the Swede was on target, but once more Hart was equal to it.

Thiago Silva had the best effort of the next half-an-hour, with a header from a corner, but his nodded effort into the ground was swiped away by the City stopper yet again.

De Bruyne buries tie with late effort

A stalemate looked on the cards as the game reached the final 15 minutes, but De Bruyne made sure the fans saw at least a goal. The crafty Belgian did brilliantly well to turn the defender and curl past Trapp, which meant the Parisians needed two strikes to qualify.

Manchester City v Paris St Germain - UEFA Champions League - Etihad Stadium

De Bruyne’s strike certainly made the match come alive, and Hart had to be called upon at the other end once again moments later, when Edinson Cavani creeped past Bacary Sagna to attempt a chip.

City’s win made sure they joined fellow victors on the night Real Madrid, who overcame a 2-0 first leg deficit to beat Wolfsburg 3-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.

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Author

Sam Barnard

Sam has been writing for Coral since January 2014, and is the assistant editor of the news site. As well as the main betting sports, football, tennis and cricket, he covers the likes of golf, F1 and darts too, the latter of which has become a particular favourite. Sam enjoys playing as much as writing about sports, but niggling injuries have limited his participation in recent years, so is happy to mainly watch the pros such as Manchester United, Yorkshire CCC, Raymond van Barneveld and even Gibraltar national football team instead.