Although talismanic Parisian captain Marquinhos almost got his side on track for the two-goal victory they needed when his header hit the cross-bar early on, a brace from Paris-born Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez swayed the day and saw the Mancunians win through to their first-ever Champions League final.

A tough scenario for PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, who had Angel Di Maria sent off as Paris's nerves frayed late on, but the Argentine was staying focused on the positives as the dramatic domestic season, in which his side can still complete a Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Coupe de France double, reaches its culmination.

Pochettino: 'So proud of the players'

"I think that we played well. We feel disappointed because sometimes you need that percentage of luck to win the game, but the team put in incredible effort and I feel so proud of the players," said the PSG boss. "Unlucky, disappointed, sad... but we have two competitions left to play for. It's difficult now to be positive but we must stay positive and be strong mentally."

Looking to the future, as a coach and club are sure to do after such a result, Pochettino feels his tenure at the club - which began mid-way through the season - is going great guns.

"I think that the spirit has been good in these last four months of working together and getting to know each other. It's important for the future and we will see," he said. "We are at a big club, a good club and of course the objective will always be to compete at this level. The objective is of course to win the Champions League and we know that this isn't easy, but for sure we need to fight again next season."

Leonardo: 'Not the time to decide or announce anything'

The future of Pochettino's time at the helm of the capital club to no small extent contingent on the players he has at his disposal, but Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo wouldn't be drawn on questions suggesting that this elimination could impact the club's capacity to tie Neymar and Mbappé - whose contracts expire at the end of next season - to new deals.

"This is not the time to decide or announce anything," said the Brazilian, who had reportedly hoped to announce the big-ticket extensions prior to the City tie, preferring to focus on the progress the club has made on Europe's biggest stage in recent seasons. "We must be proud of what we have done. We have to keep the good things, we have to continue, we want to win. There are many positive things. We have shown strength, a squad. We have to build things, I'm optimistic for the future. Unfortunately we lost, but with the awareness that we are a great group and that we will achieve great things."

Pep praise for PSG

Meanwhile City boss Pep Guardiola was gracious in victory, underlining the quality of Paris Saint-Germain.

"Against a team that had beaten Barcelona and Bayern, qualifying means a lot to us and we will celebrate. In the first leg, we were lucky to score from a free-kick, and tonight we were saved by the bar from Marquinhos' header. It all comes down to details," said the storied coach, who won the competition twice while in charge of Barcelona. "Paris are great competitors, they fought until the end, [Marco] Verratti is a great example, [Leandro] Paredes, Neymar... they're a great team."

The capital club's next challenge comes in the form Sunday's trip to Rennes, where they will look to match or better League leaders LOSC's result in Friday's Northern derby away to old enemies RC Lens.


(Photo: PSG.fr)