PEP GUARDIOLA, his wealthy employers and of course, City’s fans, have waited a long time for this.
But surely, they are on their way to the Champions League final.
Any tournament which ends in Istanbul needs a famous recovery and City did exactly that last night as they pulled PSG’s pants down with two goals in the space of seven minutes.
This was stunning stuff from City. It was their 18th successive away win and, by some distance, the finest of them all.
So impressive in the first half and leading with a goal from Marquinhos, PSG simply lost the plot and also their cool.
Kevin de Bruyne’s leveller was lucky, Riyad Mahrez’s strike was thanks to some shambolic defending and then former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was deservedly sent off for a tackle on Ilkay Gundogan.
But here was the night that City, finally, proved they are not bottle jobs on the big occasion.
And if they do fall to pieces in the second leg – and on this performance it will not happen – Guardiola’s team will have only themselves to blame.
There were numerous heroes on the pitch for City in the second half but it was a special moment for Mahrez who was raised in Paris suburb Sarcelles – not far from the Parc des Princes.
And this was a classic type of away performance which you see from European powerhouses such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid who find a way of winning, even if not at their best.
And the most relieved man in European football will have been Guardiola whose Champions League results for City against teams from France – and also Mauricio Pochettino – have not been great.
