Paris Saint-Germain’s gaffer Laurent Blanc has claimed that Manchester City were better than Chelsea, after PSG were held to a 2-2 stalemate in last night’s UEFA Champions League quarter finals first leg encounter.
The Ligue 1 champions easily breezed past Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, but faced problems against Manchester City as the Citizens came from behind to grab a draw at the Parc de Princes.
After the match, Blanc told reporters that PSG were expecting a tough clash against Manchester City, and the English side were more efficient on the pitch as compared to Chelsea.
“We knew City have some great players going forward. We expected a game like this,” Blanc was quoted as saying by Goal.com. “City were a lot stronger than Chelsea, whereas we were less accurate than against Chelsea.”
After Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne had put the visiting team ahead in the 38th minute, PSG equalised through Zlatan Ibrahimovic and soon took the lead in the 59th minute through Rabiot. However Fernandinho’s 72nd minute goal spoiled the party for the French champions and they failed to garner a win.
Blanc further opined that PSG played like an average team and lost possession easily, allowing Man City to pull off a draw.
“We should have gone a goal up, but then they scored against the run of play. And they added another after the break. It is very hard when you concede two goals in a home game. Manchester City were very efficient”, Blanc said.
“We were average from a technical point of view. We lost possession too easily.
“But if we can put in a similar performance in the second leg and get the same amount of chances, we will score goals.”
Can PSG progress into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals?
With Man City scoring two vital away goals in the first leg, the onus is on PSG to perform in the 2nd leg and grab a win. Anything less than a win would not suffice for the French Champions, except a draw higher or equal to the scoreline of 2-2, which looks improbable. Although, PSG have the necessary elements in their arsenal to topple Man City, the away goals can enable the English side to adopt a defensive stance to the game, which may work to City’s advantage.
Given the current scoreboard, one can tip Manchester City as favourites to qualify for the semi-finals, as their two away goals give them enough leverage to hold off PSG. However, it would not be wise to write off the French champions.