⚽️ ⚽️ Paris Saint-Germain ⚽️ ⚽️
Right now, PSG is in a very tight, heated race for first place in Ligue 1, in hopes of capturing another title.
However, they are also wrapped up in something else which, frankly, may be more important on many levels than anything that happens in Ligue 1. PSG is in the UEFA Champions League tournament, and they are doing admirably well for a second year in a row.
Last year, they made it all the way to the final. However, the lost to Bayern Munich, who managed to capture their 6th overall UEFA title. Indeed, that qualifies Bayern Munich to be one of the true historical powerhouses in the tournament’s history, behind only Real Madrid and AC Milan for the most UEFA championships. In fact, Bayern Munich was in seemingly good position to possibly tie AC Milan with a seventh UEFA Championship this year, as many expected them to win yet again.
That did not happen, however, because PSG managed to knock them out in the last round. That’s right, PSG managed to exact a measure of revenge for last season’s defeat in the title game by knocking them out of the tournament this year. This means that PSG is in the semifinal round for a second year in a row. In fact, they likely are considered the team with the most experience in this tournament for this next semifinal match-up, as their opponents, Manchester City (not to be mistaken with Manchester United) are in the tournament semifinal for the first time in a long time. They made it to the quarterfinal round last year, but lost to Lyon, France’s Ligue 1 rivals, who are actually still in the running for a Ligue 1 title this season.
Manchester City made it to the quarterfinal round in both 2018 and 2019, losing each time. They saw the team that eliminated them, their English rivals the Tottenham Hotspurs, win the whole tournament in 2019. Manchester City did not make it out of the round of 16 in 2015 and 2017. It should be noted that they did make it to the semifinal round in 2016, where they lost to the eventual champions Real Madrid.
In any case, it will not be easy, one way or the other.
PSG played very well in the first half, and were leading 1-0 heading into the locker room at the half. Unfortunately, they didn't play nearly as well in the second half, which caught up with them in a big way roughly 20 minutes in. They conceded a goal against the run of play, and another one less than ten minutes later, which would prove the winning goal for the "Cityzens". It didn't help that Gueye was red-carded in the 77th minute. I didn't see the foul, but listening to the game on France Bleu, there was unanimous agreement that it was richly deserved. Frustrating. PSG's odd season continues: still in the running in Ligue 1 despite having lost more games than usual, and still with a chance to qualify for their second straight Champions League final, despite the fact that they almost seem to be experiencing a home field DISadvantage at the Parc des Princes. At any rate, they'll need to defend much better, and their strikers – Mbappé and Neymar in particular – will need to find the back of the net in Manchester in order for them to have a chance. We shall see.
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