Mahrez asked De Bruyne for permission to take the free-kick that made it 2-1 to Manchester City
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Kevin De Bruyne gave Riyad Mahrez permission to take the free-kick that led to Manchester City’s second goal, which proved to be the winner in their 2-1 victory against Paris St Germain.
Manchester City went into half-time 1-0 down, but a Kevin de Bruyne-inspired comeback in the second half means they go into the return leg at home next week with a 2-1 advantage, as they eye their first ever Champions League final.
De Bruyne scored in the 64th minute from a cross that no one got on the end of and seven minutes later City were awarded a free-kick from 20 yards out that was very much in the kind of range that De Bruyne would’ve liked.
Riyad Mahrez lines up his free-kick after asking Kevin de Bruyne if he could take it in Paris
De Bruyne had equalised in the 64th minute before Mahrez scored from the free-kick
But Mahrez asked if he could take it instead and De Bruyne allowed the Algerian to.
‘I said if you believe in yourself, so who am I to say no? I believe in all my team-mates,’ De Bruyne told BT Sport.
De Bruyne was awarded man-of-the-match for his performance on the night, but things could’ve been very different after Marquinhos headed in the opener after just 15 minutes.
Mahrez scored a free-kick that gave Manchester City a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg
But Pep Guardiola’s side slowed things down in the second half, and eventually their patience reaped rewards.
‘We know there are moments where we will suffer, you have to set your mind that you need to run hard,’ De Bruyne said.
‘I think we started well first 10 mins, they got great quality up front, shame the way we conceded.
De Bruyne was awarded man-of-the-match for his performance after scoring his side’s opener
‘After 25 minutes we changed how we pressed, we had chances, second half much better, put them under pressure, first goal lucky but we played great football in second half.
‘Just to play more with ball, we were too rushed in first half, we are not set up to go forward too quickly, we found spaces more patiently in second half, progression we made was good.
Of course, (the tie) it is set up in perfect position we kept going and second goal is good for us, but still a game to go, so concentrate on that.’
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