Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola deliberates the difficulty of playing Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after his 3-1 defeat at Anfield in the Premier League. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances. Pep Guardiola has clarified why facing Liverpool is as difficult as he described Manchester City’s […]
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]]>Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola deliberates the difficulty of playing Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after his 3-1 defeat at Anfield in the Premier League. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances.
Pep Guardiola has clarified why facing Liverpool is as difficult as he described Manchester City’s defeat as one of the proud performances of his managerial career.
The champions were beaten 3-1 at Anfield on Sunday to fall nine points behind the Premier League pacesetters.
Liverpool has now misplaced only one of their last 51 top flight competitions and has taken 34 points from 36 so far this term. Only Tottenham in 1960/61 has better points per game ratio at this stage of a top-flight movement.
And asked why Liverpool is such a force Guardiola said: “They are strong in set-pieces when you sit back and defend in the box they open up with Robertson and Alexander with crosses arrive with Wijnaldum the second balls it is almost impossible to live with the second balls.”
When you get back when you attack every mistake you can do the biggest quality from Jurgen in his entire career is with the transition.
You decide before you play. You wait for crosses, crosses counter-attack. You try to create chances like we did today we won two titles in a row seven titles and some people say we like to watch Man City play football’.
Of Liverpool’s lead, Guardiola added nine points is a lot they lost just one game last season 12 games 11 victories and one draw but nine points are not easy and yet it is November.
Is it their year? My colleague Jurgen can explain better than me.
Despite the defeat which means Manchester City still has not won at Anfield since 2003 Guardiola was impressed by his team’s performance.
“I think we showed in the most difficult stadium in the world right now the reason why we are champions,” he said.
One of the proudest performances I ever leave within my career in this stadium, nothing to say unfortunately we lost.
Congratulations to Jurgen and his fantastic team 3-1 it was a good game for the Premier League for the millions around the world it was a good advertisement.
Maybe you have bought me and Jurgen a bottle of wine for that!
We have three teams in front of us maybe they have more chances to win the Premier League than us but hopefully, we can sustain this mentality and try it. In the end, if it is not enough we will congratulate Liverpool Leicester or Chelsea and move forward for the next season.
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]]>Pep Guardiola must channel Anfield anger for Man City to have any chance of catching Liverpool now. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances. Pep Guardiola has to use this. It’s all he can do. Sky’s cameras picked up the Manchester City manager’s comments to referee Michael Oliver […]
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]]>Pep Guardiola must channel Anfield anger for Man City to have any chance of catching Liverpool now. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances.
Pep Guardiola has to use this. It’s all he can do.
Sky’s cameras picked up the Manchester City manager’s comments to referee Michael Oliver at the final whistle: Thank you so much, he declared with no shortage of irony.
And while it would be a wild disservice to Liverpool to claim such a vital victory was owed solely to the decision not penalize Trent Alexander-Arnold in the opening minutes, it provides Guardiola and City something to cling to. Look at the cold, hard facts after this 3-1 defeat and City have it all to do. The city’s manager will leave Anfield with the belief they have been severely wrong-done.
In truth, Klopp would have had his own complaints had a penalty been awarded, given Bernardo Silva was as guilty of handling during the same incident as Alexander-Arnold. Either way, the correct decision would have been to halt play, rather than allow Liverpool to break up the pitch and score.
Now Guardiola needs to find the way to make the difference between now and the end of the season and instilling a siege mentality is a well-worn tactic that may just be his best approach from here-on in.
Two years of unprecedented dominance has taken its toll on a dressing room that has found the going just that little bit tougher this term. Be it Norwich and Wolves finding ways to win against them or Southampton pushing them to the brink, is beginning to feel like a grind.
But only a fool would write this City team off even from this distance.
They’ve responded to their previous two defeats this season with five wins on the bounce. Do the same again after this and the table could look very different by the turn of the year.
Guardiola’s big transfer mistake
City’s grip on their title may well have been lost at Anfield but the tone was set during a summer when Guardiola failed to strengthen in two key areas.
The Catalan’s failure to replace the departed Vincent Company still beggar’s belief. And while he insists the champions didn’t have the funds to compete with Manchester United for top target Harry Maguire, he still managed to make Joao Cancelo the most expensive right-back in English football.
That decision looks all the more peculiar considering Kyle Walker remains his first choice in that position. Meanwhile, City also opted against bringing in a top-class left-back despite spending the past two seasons with makeshift options in that position.
Angelino returned after City had already decided the Spaniard wasn’t up to the required standard after selling him to PSV Eindhoven. It was a measure of Guardiola’s ongoing doubts about Mendy and Nicolas Otamendi that neither started such a huge game, with midfielder Fernandinho playing at center back in a game in which City’s defensive frailties came to the fore.
Salah is in Guardiola’s head
The decision to name Angelino ahead of Benjamin Mendy was a head-scratcher from the moment the team sheets came out. Mendy was outstanding in this same fixture last season and is City’s best answer to Mo Salah – the player who consumes Guardiola ahead of these games.
The Egyptians had one of his quietest games when the sides drew 0-0 at Anfield as Mendy’s high line forced him to check his own attacking ambitions.
But there was no sign of that as he stole a march on Angelino in the first half to double Liverpool’s lead and put the game beyond doubt.
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]]>All four Premier League clubs could qualify for the Champions League last-16 on matchday five. Liverpool, Man City, and Tottenham and Chelsea are all in favorable positions with two games to go. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances. Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain secured their […]
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]]>All four Premier League clubs could qualify for the Champions League last-16 on matchday five. Liverpool, Man City, and Tottenham and Chelsea are all in favorable positions with two games to go. Sports enthusiasts from around the world can purchase Premier League Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances.
Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain secured their progression to the knockout stages on matchday four with wins over Olympiacos, Lokomotiv Moscow and Club Brugge, respectively. The three European giants have steamrolled through their groups to sit top after four games. Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham, and Chelsea will hope to join Bayern, Juve, and PSG in the last-16 later this month.
Liverpool:
Liverpool will be looking for revenge against Napoli on matchday five after suffering a 2-0 defeat in Naples in September. The Champions League holders will qualify for the last-16 with a win over the Serie A club. Jurgen Klopp’s men could even lose to Napoli and still progress if RB Salzburg, to beat basement boys Genk.
Man City:
Man City would have qualified for the last-16 if they had beaten Atalanta on Wednesday. Mario Pasalic’s second-half strike canceled out Raheem Sterling’s early opener. But Pep Guardiola’s side held on for a point as they ended the game with right-back Kyle Walker in goal after Claudio Bravo, a half-time replacement for the injured Ederson, was sent off in the 81st minute.
The city will be confident of progressing at the second time of asking when they host Shakhtar Donetsk, a team they beat 3-0 in the reverse fixture. The Citizens could still secure qualification even if they lose or draw with Shakhtar on the basis that Atalanta avoids defeat against Dinamo Zagreb.
Tottenham:
Back-to-back wins over Red Star Belgrade have put Tottenham in a much better position to qualify after failing to win their opening two games. Victory over Olympiacos in three weeks’ time will secure qualification to the last-16 for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Tottenham let a two-goal lead slip in Greece in the reverse fixture and will be aiming for a more comfortable night in north London. Spurs could even draw to Olympiacos and hope Bayern Munich, who has a 100 percent record in Group B beat Red Star Belgrade.
Chelsea:
Group H is by far the most competitive Champion’s League group. Leaders Chelsea, second-placed Ajax, and third-placed Valencia are all on seven points heading into matchday five. The Blues face a tricky trip to Valencia, while Ajax host bottom club Lille, who have just one point.
Chelsea will qualify on matchday five if Frank Lampard’s side beat Valencia and Lille manage to pull off a shock win or draw against Ajax. Those results would see Chelsea on 10 points with Ajax and Valencia needing to play each other on matchday six.
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]]>Eric Garcia joined Man City from Barcelona two years ago and impressed in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton. With Pep Guardiola’s central defensive options limited because of injury, Eric Garcia took full benefit with a calm display in City’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. Football fans can get Premier League Tickets from […]
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]]>Eric Garcia joined Man City from Barcelona two years ago and impressed in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton. With Pep Guardiola’s central defensive options limited because of injury, Eric Garcia took full benefit with a calm display in City’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. Football fans can get Premier League Tickets from our website on discounted prices.
Aymeric Laporte’s imposed long-term lay-off, combined with Rodri’s injury and the contradictions of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, has opened the door for Eric Garcia.
And the 18-year-old Spaniard, who joined City from Barcelona two years ago, is doing all he can to earn a first Premier League start from boss Pep Guardiola.
Eric Garcia only previous Premier League involvement was as a 67th-minute represent for Otamendi in City’s 8-0 collapse of Watford last month when the champions were already 7-0 up. But asked if he now felt ready to start a Premier League game, Eric Garcia said: With these games, it helps to be ready if someday I have the opportunity to play.
So, I keep working and wait for my opening to prove I can also play. I’m really happy for the chance to play in the Carabao Cup. With the assurance the staff and the players give to me, on the pitch, it’s very easy. Pep Guardiola says just to play as I do always and be confident, be calm and speak with all the players because they will help me and I need to help them as well.
I have more interaction with the defenders because we play in the same position and we try to help each other. We’re a team. We’re all friends because it’s the key, when you’re going to play hard-hitting games in the Champions League and in the Premier League, to all be together.
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]]>Manchester City moving in a very good form, three goals in the 2nd half ensuring victory and the closing of the gap to Liverpool to two points, at least until the leaders entertain Tottenham on Sunday. Football fans can book Premier League Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices. Pep Guardiola was happy with the […]
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]]>Manchester City moving in a very good form, three goals in the 2nd half ensuring victory and the closing of the gap to Liverpool to two points, at least until the leaders entertain Tottenham on Sunday. Football fans can book Premier League Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.
Pep Guardiola was happy with the win over an Aston Villa who came to play; there was anger at the display before the break. “We played a good 45 minutes, not the other ones. Credit to Aston Villa,” he said. “The second half we were better, we play in the way we normally are but we have to try and play 90 minutes not just 45.”
Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock 23 seconds into the 2nd half. “Normally you use the word aggressive when you don’t have the ball,” Guardiola said. “I like to use this word aggressive when you have the ball. Raheem was the only player who was aggressive with the ball in the first half. In the 2nd half, we imitate him. Be aggressive with the ball and we [were] not aggressive.”
Rodri’s injury problem had cleared the way for John Stones to make his first start since mid-September while Gabriel Jesus, again preferred to Sergio Aguero, missed an early chance, steering wide of Tom Heaton’s left post. Manchester City controlled the ball and space for most of the challenge, camping inside the visitors’ half with Sterling, the two Silvas – Bernardo and David – and Kevin De Bruyne a blue blur that Villa twisted to slow.
Villa showed they should be taken seriously, too, as they wanted a first win against City since September 2013. Wesley, the lone striker, was a powerful focal point, and Trezeguet, Jack Grealish, and John McGinn looked risky in combination. After Sterling‘s shot hit Bjorn Engels in the area VAR ruled no penalty and moments later the same adjudication came at the other end. Ederson saved a McGinn effort to his left, the ball spilled to Douglas Luiz and as Fernandinho and João Cancelo closed on the midfielder he went down but City escaped.
David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan’s radars are off City can struggle, though Ederson’s capability to fire 60-yard passes – such as the one Heaton raced out to chest away illustrates their all-round strength. Guardiola has been worried at the chances passed by his team, with Trezeguet and Wesley have given room to shoot in the penalty area. As half-time approached the lack of callousness in the opposite box was also illustrated when Sterling teed up David Silva but he sprayed wide.
23 seconds into the 2nd half and Sterling showed Silva how. A high ball was knocked into his path and, after advancing on Heaton’s goal, he fired his finish through the goalkeeper’s legs. This was Sterling’s 13th strike of the term for Manchester City and his 7th in the league, two behind the top scorer, Jamie Vardy.
When Manchester City scores once they often do so a 2nd time or more. Not long after the opener, Benjamin Mendy’s shot could have doubled the margin, and then Jesus missed a second sitter of the game, unable to finish from a few yards out. This had Guardiola stamping in anger. Soon they had the 2nd goal. De Bruyne passes with Mendy from the corner on the left. The Belgian swung the ball in, and it passed David Silva and Sterling and went in. Cue a VAR delay to see if Sterling was offside before the goal was ruled to be good and credited to De Bruyne.
Dean Smith was in no doubt. “The 2nd goal I believe is offside,” he said, before pointing to the Belgian being awarded it, believing Silva to have touched the ball. “That’s a get-out for the officials.”Manchester City was soon 3-0 up following a melee at a corner Gundogan volleyed sweetly home.
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]]>Man City 3-0 Aston Villa: Man City’s 2nd goal in their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa earlier today was allowed to stand despite Raheem Sterling inquisitive with play while seemingly in an offside position. Man. City stuttered, and then moved into high gear, three second-half goals ensuring victory and the closing of the gap to Liverpool […]
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]]>Man City 3-0 Aston Villa:
Man City’s 2nd goal in their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa earlier today was allowed to stand despite Raheem Sterling inquisitive with play while seemingly in an offside position. Man. City stuttered, and then moved into high gear, three second-half goals ensuring victory and the closing of the gap to Liverpool to two points, at least until the leaders entertain Tottenham on Sunday. Football fans can book Premier League Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.
Though Pep Guardiola was pleased with the win over an Aston Villa who came to play, there was irritation at the display before the break. “We played a good 45 minutes, not the other ones. Credit to Aston Villa,” he said. “The second half we were better, we play in the way we normally are but we have to try and play 90 minutes not just 45.”
Brighton 3-2 Everton:
Brighton took a lead of two huge slices of luck to snatch a spectacular 3-2 victory over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. Lucas Digne turned into his own net in strike time to ensure the hosts grabbed all three points after VAR took center-stage once again.
Neal Maupay leveled from the spot for the hosts in the 80th minute after Aaron Connolly was adjudged to have been fouled by Michael Keane. VAR has been strict giving penalties so far this season, the apparent ‘stamp’ on Connolly’s toe appeared soft. It deprived of Everton a return of their own after an own-goal from Adam Webster and a strike from Dominic Calvert-Lewin put the Toffees in front following Pascal Gross’ early free-kick.
West Ham 1-1 Sheffield United:
Sheffield United sustained their remarkable start to the season by nicking a 1-1 draw with West Ham. Lys Mousset came off the bench to call off Robert Snodgrass’ opener at the London Stadium. It will take an awful lot to make up for relegation and the 12 years they have spent in the wilderness outside the Premier League. Sheffield United at least had the last laugh in their first league meeting with West Ham since the Carlos Tevez affair.
Burnley 2-4 Chelsea:
Chelsea’s unbelievable run under Frank Lampard continued thanks to Christian Pulisic’s hat-trick at a drenched Turf Moor. Christian Pulisic scored a perfect treble as the Blues romped into a four goal lead. It could have been five, but VAR overruled a penalty decision after Callum Hudson-Odoi was adjudged to have died in the box.
“I am absolutely delighted for him,” Lampard said. “It was a fantastic match-winning appearance. He showed the full package. There has been a large number of talks around Christian for the big price tag. He is pretty rightly a star in his own country. I know the back story and the pressure of the move. He [only] had a week’s break in the summer, so why am I going to throw him in?”
Pulisic has had to be tolerant – “I didn’t think it was going to be super easy,” he said – but after a frustrating two months, when the American has been a bit-part player and has not even made the bench at times, this was an explosion of excellence. Pulisic has been overshadowed by Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham but, on his first league start since August, he upstaged them, taking the striker’s record as Chelsea’s youngest hat-trick scorer in the Premier League. The first treble of his elder career came as such a surprise to the scorer that he forgot to claim the match ball. His teammates duly collected and signed it. It was the least they could do.
Watford 0-0 Bournemouth:
Watford’s wait for a Premier League win continues following with a 0-0 draw at home to Bournemouth. Watford is still looking for their first three points of the season after a goalless draw at Vicarage Road with Bournemouth. The game started at a frantic pace with both sides hitting the woodwork in the opening 15 minutes. Gerard Deulofeu struck the post directly from a corner, while Steve Cook headed onto the bar when he possibly should’ve done better. Bournemouth was on top for much of the second half and Ben Foster had to be on top form to keep them out. Superb saves to stop both Diego Rico and Arnaut Danjuma ensured Watford survived the first half and came into half time at 0-0.
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]]>Paul Merson has backed Liverpool to end their long wait for a Premier League title The Reds fell painfully short last season, finally finishing just one point behind Manchester City, but Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes that title will be heading to Anfield this time. Football fans can book Premier League Tickets on our website […]
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]]>Paul Merson has backed Liverpool to end their long wait for a Premier League title The Reds fell painfully short last season, finally finishing just one point behind Manchester City, but Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes that title will be heading to Anfield this time. Football fans can book Premier League Tickets on our website on exclusively discounted prices.
The break is still six goal points and that’s still a lot Merson told to Sky Sports. Forget about where Man Utd are, that was always going to be a difficult game for Liverpool. It’s the biggest match of this season for both teams so neither side is lying down for the other. Liverpool found a way to get back into the game, and it’s the sort of game to look back on later in the season and think that was a big point.
There’s always going to be pressure for Liverpool because they are the top team at that moment, everybody wants to tired them. The gap is still six points and they haven’t lost a game in the premier league yet in this season. Six points is a big gap at this stage of the premier league, so I thought Sunday match result was a good for Liverpool. Manchester City won their last 14 matches of this season. They just have to worry about themselves. They’ve got to keep going and they are still favoriting in my eyes.
Liverpool need to win their next weekend match against Tottenham. Manchester City play before them and if Guardiola’s side get a win then the gap is down with three points. There will clearly be a game in hand, but the pressure will be different as Liverpool will need to win the match. They then play Man City in a few weeks and if Klopp’s side win the match and go to nine points clear, you’d probably say goodnight to the title race.
Paul Merson can see the Reds winning Europe again this season after raising question marks over fellow challengers Man City, Bayern Munich and Juventus. I thought Juventus would be one of the dangers, but I watched them the other night and they are not going to win the match.
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I still think Liverpool are the team to beat the game. They lost in the final match two seasons ago and then won the final match last season. I still think Liverpool will be there or come the end of the competition.
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]]>Manchester City are all but assured of a place in next season’s Champions League as Manuel Pellegrini’s time at the club ended with a 1-1 draw at Swansea City. They were denied a win as Andre Ayew’s deflected free-kick in the stoppage time of first half cancelled out Kelechi Iheanacho’s early close-range opener. The draw […]
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]]>Manchester City are all but assured of a place in next season’s Champions League as Manuel Pellegrini’s time at the club ended with a 1-1 draw at Swansea City. They were denied a win as Andre Ayew’s deflected free-kick in the stoppage time of first half cancelled out Kelechi Iheanacho’s early close-range opener. The draw leaves Man City three points ahead of Manchester United, who still have to play their final game on Tuesday against Bournemouth which was abandoned after finding a suspect device in a toilet.
Man City’s vastly superior goal difference means United would need a 19-0 win over the Cherries to take fourth place. In many ways, Man City’s display at the Liberty Stadium was a fitting way to end an underwhelming season that began with such promise before limping to a satisfactory but below-par conclusion. Iheanacho – the on-field embodiment of a potentially exciting future – again demonstrated his sharpness in front of goal to poke home the opening goal after a Sergio Aguero shot had been saved in the fifth minute.
It was the 19-year-old’s 14th goal of the season and his eighth from his first 12 shots on target in the Premier League. But he and his Man City side failed to build on it, missing numerous chances to put the game to bed, with the young forward and his usually lethal Argentine partner Aguero particularly wasteful. It left them vulnerable to a Swansea equaliser – which came courtesy of a 25-yard Ayew free-kick that deflected in off Fernando’s head – and a potentially devastating second in a tense second half for the away side.
In securing a top-four finish, Pellegrini has achieved the very minimum required of him before handing over to Pep Guardiola this summer, but it does not mask the failings of the Chilean’s final campaign. Despite winning the League Cup for a second time in three years and going further in the Champions League than ever before, Man City’s expensively assembled squad have underachieved in the league. Their haul of 66 points is their lowest in the top-flight since the 2008-09 season – the first under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership.
Curated from Swansea City 1-1 Manchester City – BBC Sport
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]]>Joe Hart kept Manchester City’s hopes of reaching their first Champions League final alive with two brilliant late saves that ensured their semi-final first leg with Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium finished goalless. With star striker Cristiano Ronaldo missing because of a thigh injury, a cautious Real side offered little goal threat until the closing […]
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]]>Joe Hart kept Manchester City’s hopes of reaching their first Champions League final alive with two brilliant late saves that ensured their semi-final first leg with Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium finished goalless. With star striker Cristiano Ronaldo missing because of a thigh injury, a cautious Real side offered little goal threat until the closing stages. But in the last 20 minutes, Jese headed against the bar for the Spanish side before Hart brilliantly denied Casemiro and Pepe from corners.
Hart showed great reactions to keep out Casemiro’s header with his foot but his block to deny Pepe, who was unmarked and five yards from goal, is the standout reason Man City will travel to Spain next week with a precious clean sheet. The closest Man City came to a goal of their own was when Keylor Navas tipped over Kevin de Bruyne’s dipping free-kick in stoppage time. That was Navas’ only save of a game that was billed as a shootout between two attacking sides but was, in fact, a game largely devoid of goalmouth action.
Man City will take the positives from denying Real Madrid an away goal but England’s last remaining representatives in Europe’s elite competition still face a huge task if they are to reach the final, in Milan on 28 May. Their failure to score at home means former Real boss Manuel Pellegrini does not have a lead to take back to the Bernabeu, where Zinedine Zidane’s side have not conceded a goal in the Champions League all season.
Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini said: We played a very intense game and defended well. We tried to create until David Silva got injured then we lost the ball too much. If you cannot win then a 0-0 draw is good. “We knew they were going to play a slow game and that is why we pressed as a team. When we had the ball, we could not make the difference. We could not score,” he added.
Curated from Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid – BBC Sport
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]]>Manchester City have reached into the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history after beating Paris St-Germain by 1-0 (agg 3-2) in the second leg of last-8 at Etihad Stadium. Kevin de Bruyne’s late strike helped Manuel Pellegrini side to knock out the French champions from the competition. De Bruyne […]
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]]>Manchester City have reached into the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history after beating Paris St-Germain by 1-0 (agg 3-2) in the second leg of last-8 at Etihad Stadium. Kevin de Bruyne’s late strike helped Manuel Pellegrini side to knock out the French champions from the competition. De Bruyne scored in the both legs against PSG for Manchester City with both of his shots on target. After a 2-2 first-leg draw in Paris on last Wednesday, the game stayed in the balance in Manchester because of the missed penalty of Sergio Aguero for City in the first half.
The hosts had Joe Hart to thank for three superb saves when the score was 0-0, particularly a fierce free-kick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic that the England goalkeeper clawed to safety. But, roared on by a maximum crowd of 53,039 that provided an exceptional environment, Manchester City held their nerve at the back before De Bruyne’s decisive header 15 minutes from time with their only shot on target. The final whistle brought scenes of real feeling from the supporters at Etihad Stadium, who were at the point of uncharted region.
England’s last residual representatives in Europe’s first class football club tournament had never achieved a place in the quarter-finals before this season – now they can see a dream of the final in Milan. First they can look forward to Friday’s semi-final draw, after winning what was seen as the clash of Europe’s wealthiest clubs with a PSG side who have now fallen at the last-8 stage for four consecutive seasons.
Manchester City’s defence has been tremendously insulted this season and their display in Paris specifically indicated a clean sheet looked a long shot in this second leg. The major reason they attained one was Hart but, at this time, their back four also deserve tremendous credit. Their full-backs handled the PSG’s wide players, whether it was wing-backs Maxwell and Gregory van der Wiel in a 5-3-2 formation in the first half, or orthodox wingers Lucas and Angel di Maria in a 4-4-2 in the second half.
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