- Achraf Hakimi thought himself the hero of the hour on the stroke of half-time
- But his team-mate Mendes was found to offside by semi-automated technology
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Paris Saint-Germain were disappointed just before half-time after their would-be opening goal was ruled out for offside in their Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday evening.
Morocco international Achraf Hakimi thought he had struck gold with a bulleted effort from just inside the box to take the hosts ahead of the English champions at Parc des Princes.
But after a VAR intervention, it was revealed that semi-automated offside had caught Hakimi’s team-mate Nuno Mendes by a knee’s length.
Mendes had initially received the ball on the left flank and skittered into the box, but rather than catching Ederson off-guard, squared the ball to Desire Doue.
Doue then chose to cut back to Hakimi at the top of the box for the defender to strike past scrambling Man City players, with the shot given a helping hand into the back of the net with a deflection.
PSG had been the stronger team in the French capital, with Pep Guardiola‘s side seemingly not yet exorcised of their mid-season demons after a thumping 6-0 victory in the Premier League against Ipswich Town last weekend.
Paris Saint-Germain saw a goal chalked off on the stroke of half-time after Nuno Mendes’ knee (in blue) was glancingly offside
The hosts had looked to make their dominance pay against a weaker Man City side until semi-automated VAR spoilt the party
Achraf Hakimi (left) thought he had broken the deadlock just before half-time but Mendes’ knee (right) snuffed out the chance
Guardiola admitted in his pre-match press conference that his team were in the thick of the ‘toughest period of the season’ as they look to gain ground in the Premier League and attempt to sneak into the automatic qualification spots in Europe in a bid to avoid extra play-off ties.
With the score level at half-time, Man City sat at the very bottom of the play-off places, and perilously close to the relegation zone on just nine points with one match left to play.
On TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand had urged the English side to take control of the tie, saying: ‘They need to get some control in the game, a bit more dominance that they are used to midfield and maybe pushing one in the defenders in there at times.
‘They have to make sure they keep this PSG team out and be more press resistant.’
The second-half introduction of Jack Grealish however made a lightning-quick difference for the visitors, with the England international netting just two minutes before Erling Haaland doubled City’s lead.
Ahead of the clash, there was room for a little levity from the beleaguered manager on Tuesday, as he poked fun at his friendship with PSG manager Luis Enrique.
‘I want from the deepest of my heart a horrible performance from PSG tomorrow, so we can beat them, but it will be 95 minutes and afterwards the relation (with Luis Enrique) will return to how it always has been,’ he said.
‘Our families are really, really close. There are friendships that will be eternal, forever. I love them, I think they love us. We have an incredible connection… We are happy when we can see each other.’
