“We played better than them!” – PSG’s Marco Verratti hits out at referee and Man City after Champions League defeat

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti claims that the sending off of Angel Di Maria crushed the belief for the Parisian squad in their 2-0 Champions League semi-final defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

The French giants were well and truly beaten on the day as City secure their spot in the club’s first ever Champions League final. However, Verratti claims that PSG believed in their chances of turning the tie around all the way up until the 69th minute red card.

“We believed until the red card. We created a lot of chances. We played a lot better than them, but then we conceded a goal from the first chance they had, like in the first leg. But that’s how it is when you play big teams,” said Verratti after the match, as relayed by the Manchester Evening News’ Joe Bray.

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He went on to say, “We fought to the end. We can look each other in the eyes, having tried everything. That’s two years in a row we’ve reached the last four. We had a good run. I don’t know what to say: we wanted to reach the final and we couldn’t do it.”

Despite the Blues’ perceived dominance for most of the match, Verratti claims that the Parisian outfit were in command for most of the first half, despite going into the break down 1-0.

“When you play against big teams, it’s impossible to attack for 90 minutes without suffering. We have to accept that. Today we played with a lot of personality. I don’t think City had a shot in the first half other than their goal. We have to believe because one day or another, it’ll happen for us.”

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Although the Italian was quick to acknowledge that his side were in the tie for most of the 90 minutes, he also pointed out that City fully deserve to be heading to their first ever final.

“City deserve this too because they’ve been working with the same coach for six or seven years and this will be their first final. But we have to praise our run because in two years we’ve reached the final and the semi-finals. We have to continue, and our coach has only been here five months.”

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