After returning home from Paris with a valuable 2-2 draw, Manchester City would have been delighted with their night's work, in what was a frantic fixture against French champions Paris Saint Germain. Having taken the lead thanks to the fit again Kevin De Bruyne, City found themselves behind after the break, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adrien Rabiot put their side in front.
However, a determination and confidence that has been distinctly lacking from City’s performances in previous European matches eventually led to an equaliser from Brazilian Fernandinho. However, despite their precious away goals, City manager Manuel Pellegrini has refused to concur that his side are now in the driving seat to progress to the Champions League semi finals.
City will be thankful to goalkeeper Joe Hart for keeping the scores level early on after England’s number one kept out Ibrahimovic’s penalty kick, in what could have potentially opened the floodgates for a dominant PSG early on. City remained a constant threat however, and De Bruyne gave them the lead after a slick counter attack. The away side shot themselves in the foot shortly before half time however, with Fernando making an awful mess of a pass from Hart to allow for a moment of redemption for Ibrahimovic. An even second half was brought to life with scrappy goals from midfielders Rabiot and Fernandinho, as both sides eventually had to settle for a share of the spoils.
The tie is now beautifully set up, with PSG showing that they are more than capable of producing a result in England, having previously seen off the threat of Chelsea. However, the fact that 79.4% of teams that achieve a 2-2 away result go onto progress to the next round, may well mean that Pellegrini has started to mind games for the reverse fixture already. Bookmakers Betway are an internationally recognised brand, and after Wednesday night’s result, place city at 2.5/1 on to achieve a victory at the Etihad.
Having found himself involved in two of the games biggest talking points, Joe Hart believes that the draw demonstrates the steps the club have taken over recent years. The former Shrewsbury youngster has been at City since the age of nineteen and believes that City can make history to reach the last four of the competition for the first time ever. Betway place City as joint fourth favourites with PSG to win the Champions League at 12/1.