Champions League semifinals: Paris St. Germain vs. Manchester City best moments
All eyes were back on Europe for another star-studded affair Wednesday.
The semifinals of the UEFA Champions League rolled along as Paris St. Germain hosted Manchester City in the first leg of their two-legged affair.
A strong first half — and 1-0 lead — for PSG were erased by a series of calamitous errors in the second half, giving Man City a strong foothold in their tie, with a 2-1 advantage after the first leg.
Conceding a pair of second-half goals and finishing the game down a man after a red card will leave PSG searching for answers ahead of the second leg, scheduled for Tuesday in Manchester.
What went down Wednesday? Here are the best moments from the first leg of City and PSG's tie:
From bad to worse
Staring at a one-goal deficit in the 77th minute, Idrissa Gueye made matters much more difficult for PSG when he received a red card for this harsh tackle on City's Ilkay Gundogan.
Gundogan was able to recover and walk off the damage, but Paris St. Germain? Not so much.
Wall? Not exactly ...
City's second goal came off a free kick from Riyad Mahrez that rifled right through PSG's wall and into the back of the net.
Mahrez's left-footed effort slipped between Leandro Paredes and Presnel Kimpembe, leaving Keylor Navas with too much to do to keep it out.
It wasn't the most beautiful of free kicks, but City will take it all day.
To add a level of irony to the event, "Paredes" in Spanish translates to "walls" in English.
Whoops!
Nightmare for Navas
Ooooh, mercy.
Manchester City got on the board in the 64th minute with the help of some dubious goalkeeping on the part of PSG's Keylor Navas.
Credit De Bruyne for putting the ball in a dangerous spot, but Navas will be kicking himself for not doing better there.
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Silky smooth
This sequence didn't result in a goal, but it's still worth marveling at the skill on display.
Kylian Mbappe put Man City's defense on skates and nearly had an important assist, but he missed Marco Verratti's outstretched boot by the slimmest of margins in the 56th minute.
Can't capitalize
Down 1-0 near the end of the first half, the Citizens were presented with an opportunity after some loose play at the back from PSG.
Kyle Walker chased down an errant pass and found Bernardo Silva, who fed Phil Foden a golden chance, but it was all for naught.
Navas was rooted at the right spot, stopping the 20-year-old's blasted shot and collecting shortly thereafter.
Captain's orders
For all of PSG's vaunted attacking talent, it was center back and captain Marquinhos who got the hosts on the board in the 15th minute.
Man City lost the Brazilian in the box on a corner kick, which he rose to nod home to the far corner and give the Parisians an early 1-0 lead.
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Fancy footwork
Neymar was, as the kids say, in his bag early against City.
Perched on the corner of Man City goalkeeper Ederson's penalty box, the crafty PSG star linked with teammate Marco Veratti for a give-and-go that Neymar nearly converted for an opening goal.
Neymar's shot was deflected and then parried away by Ederson for a corner.
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