Champions League preview: Man City and Chelsea hoping to finish the job

An all-English final is a real possibility in the Champions League after both Manchester City and Chelsea put in great performances in their respective first leg ties against PSG and Real Madrid respectively.

With both ties only at half-time, there is plenty of work still to do and we’ve previewed the two second legs below.

City back from behind in the first leg

Manchester City pulled off a 2-1 victory away to the French powerhouses PSG, coming from behind after conceding just 15 minutes into the game. They were able to count on two second half goals to put them firmly in the driving seat ahead of their second leg fixture on Tuesday evening.

Manchester City’s lust for the Champions League trophy has been well publicised and their efforts to prove themselves as a European superpower have so far been disappointing. Pep Guardiola’s City side has been littered with disappointing results in the latter stages of the tournament, but there will be optimism going into this fixture that if they can produce a performance equal to what was seen in Paris, then they will be all but guaranteed a ticket to Istanbul.

However, PSG did show in the first half why City will still need to work hard for a result and while Mauricio Pochettino’s side will arrive as underdogs, they have more than enough firepower to cause an upset. It is for that reason that City are priced at 4/6 to get the job done, while PSG are a 15/4 chance.

Tuchel’s team unlucky to take the draw

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea will have felt unfortunate to walk away from Spain after the first leg with a 1-1 draw. The Blues dominated Real Madrid in the early stages and it was no surprise when they went a goal ahead after just 14 minutes, however, Karim Benzema kept the hosts in the game when equalising just 15 minutes later. Madrid were on the ropes up to that point, and while Chelsea were still the dominant side in the second half, they unfortunately couldn’t create anymore goalscoring opportunities.

Chelsea will rightly regard themselves as having an advantage after the first leg having taken an away goal back to London with them and most importantly avoiding defeat. This advantage makes Chelsea favourites for the second leg fixture at 6/5 but if there is one thing known in European football, it’s that Real Madrid should not be written off lightly. The Spanish side are 5/2 to cause the upset and with a side that is packed with experience and battle-hardened operators like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, there will be a dogged determination to put things right at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel will have been happy with his side’s performance, though he will be aware of the dangers facing his side in the second leg. The visitors have already proved their ability to get the job done in the Champions League when eliminating Liverpool and they could stop Chelsea in their tracks from reaching their first final since 2012.

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