Zlatan Ibrahimovic Blames Tactics, Says PSG Are Better Than Manchester City

After Paris Saint-Germain were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday by Manchester City, star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic insisted the best team lost in the tie and blamed the tactics deployed by manager Laurent Blanc for their exit.  

Kevin De Bruyne’s goal in the second leg at the Etihad Stadum gave City a 1-0 win on the night and a 3-2 triumph on aggregate after a draw in Paris. It was a game in which PSG were without key men Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and David Luiz, prompting Blanc into a change of formation. Ibrahimovic thinks that was detrimental to their chances.

“In the first half we played with a new system and what happened, happened,” said the veteran striker, per ESPN.co.uk. “If it had gone well, nobody would say anything, and now people will say we gave it away. The second half was better, when we reverted to our normal tactics, but we gave away two games.”

The Sweden star also suggested that despite failing to win either game, PSG are a superior side. “I think we are a better team, but we lost tonight and we drew 2-2 at home, so all the best to Manchester City,” he added.

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Here’s a look at what was a wonderful winner from De Bruyne, who bagged a goal in each leg of this intriguing quarter-final:

The elimination from the Champions League will make this yet another bittersweet season for the Parisians. Once again, they’ve been immaculate in Ligue 1, romping to the title by a massive margin; they could also complete a domestic treble.

But the Parc des Princes club have never been able to crack the Champions League, with this latest elimination the fourth consecutive year they’ve fallen short at the quarter-final stage. There were, however, mitigating circumstances, as noted here by Liam Twomey of ESPN FC:

Still, over the two legs, their performance wasn’t good enough. Blanc was able to call upon arguably the best defender in the world in Thiago Silva, while a front three of Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani and Ibrahimovic should be enough to cause any side on the continent big problems. Yet they were passive and toothless against City.

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Ibrahimovic will probably be disappointed with his overall performance in the two legs as well. Granted, he scored in Paris, but he also missed a penalty on the night, and when his team needed a response in the second leg, his influence was minimal aside from a couple of well-struck free-kicks.

As noted by Henry Winter of the Times, the Manchester City fans were far from impressed with the efforts of the PSG talisman:

Ibrahimovic is one of the most decorated players in European football, having won titles in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

But despite his clear winning mentality and stunning talent, the Champions League has always eluded him. 

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It’d be unfair to level PSG’s failings in European football squarely at the feet of their illustrious forward, especially in a season in which he’s thrived. But on the same night a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo dragged Real Madrid to the semi-finals, the travelling Parisians were left craving something similar from their own superstar.