It was, said the local sports newspaper, “a derby with a difference – but still full of tradition, like refereeing controversies and plenty of conflict.” Unusually, this combative Catalan derby finished with the underdogs, Espanyol, top of La Liga, and Barcelona mid-table.
But it was only September, early in the season. One newcomer to the city of Barcelona and its derbies would soon learn the odds were generally stacked against his club.
He was Mauricio Pochettino, a rugged 22 year-old defender freshly arrived at Espanyol from Argentina. "Committed, no frills", noted El Mundo Deportivo of 'Poch's' performance in the first of his many Catalan derbies.
The paper gave him the same top marks as Barcelona’s most influential midfielder in the tetchy 0-0 draw. That man was Pep Guardiola. He had “led the team, and stamped his personality on the game.”
Both Pochettino and Guardiola were at the centre of controversies that warm day in 1994. Espanyol had a goal ruled out for a harsh ruling by the referee that Pochettino had fouled Barcelona’s Ronald Koeman. Guardiola was struck by an object thrown from the crowd.
So it was that Poch and Pep met for the first time as rivals, in a fiery, edgy and attritional beginning to a saga that marks its 30th episode in Paris on Wednesday. They would go to be combatants another 10 times as players. They would meet again as young, up-and-coming coaches at Espanyol and Barca in the 2000s. They would be Premier League duellers for three-and-half seasons as their managerial careers developed.
They have been European rivals, too, as they will be at the Parc des Princes, when Pochettino guides a Paris Saint-Germain – who appointed him in January – take on the City whom Guardiola has led to every major English prize, but not yet guided to the desired European Cup. And in the Champions League, the history of their jousts favours Poch, thanks to one of the most memorable quarter-finals of the modern era, when Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur upset predictions by eliminating City on away goals in an eight-goal thriller of a tie.
PSG 0 Bayern 1: player ratings
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PSG RATINGS: Keylor Navas - 6, Should have dealt with the game’s only goal a lot better. Made a good save to deny David Alaba’s strike from range and came out well to deny Muller. Used his experience to help run down the clock. Reuters -
Colin Dagba - 7, Often looked stretched by Kingsley Coman, but did everything he could to stick with him. Was booked for a foul on the Frenchman. AFP -
Danilo Pereira - 8, Got something on so many of Bayern’s balls into the boxes, which was partly down to his clear determination, but also relied on his intelligent positioning. AFP -
Presnel Kimpembe - 7, It can be argued that he could have been stronger to prevent the opener, but the Frenchman was so determined in his defending throughout the game. Getty -
Abdou Diallo - 7, It looked like Leroy Sane might get the better of the defender, but he stuck to his task and stood strong before being forced off through injury. Reuters -
Idrissa Gueye - 7, Made a key intervention in his own box and put in a lot of good defensive work, but he was poor on the ball at times and got away with losing the ball in a dangerous area. AFP -
Leandro Paredes - 8, Worked brilliantly in tight spaces throughout the game. Also battled well defensively, making a great clearance in his own six-yard box. AFP -
Angel Di Maria – 8, Plenty of the Argentine’s passing was brilliant, but he was wasteful when a chance came to release Kylian Mbappe. Also showed flashes of brilliant skill and worked so hard for the team. AFP -
Neymar - 8, Will be wondering how he didn’t score, having forced saves from Manuel Neuer, as well as hitting the crossbar and post, while it was unbelievable that he didn’t get onto the ball after Di Maria’s cutback. In all honesty, he should have hit the back of the net. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant performance. Reuters -
Julian Draxler - 6, While the German provided flashes of quality, he was one of the quieter attacking talents in this game. Booked for a foul on Hernandez. Reuters -
Kylian Mbappe - 8, Looked like threatening every time the ball went behind Bayern’s defence, playing some great passes to Neymar. Had the ball in the back of the net but saw it called off for offside. AFP -
SUBS: Mitchel Bakker (Diallo 59’) - 7, Did well defensively, especially when he was dealing with aerial balls, but there were a few moments where Sane got the better of him. Made a great block to deny Muller. Reuters -
Moise Kean (Draxler 72’) – N/R, Made a mess of his effort after being released into the Bayern box but worked hard for the team. AFP -
SUB Ander Herrera (Di Maria 88’) – N/R, Booked for a foul on Kimmich a few minutes after coming on as he did his job of breaking up the play. AFP -
BAYERN MUNICH RATINGS: Manuel Neuer - 8, Made a great block to deny Neymar and stood strong throughout the game. Came off his line decisively to cut out a pass meant for Mbappe in the first half and did it again to deny Neymar near the end. AFP -
Benjamin Pavard - 6, Got away with one when the linesman flagged Mbappe offside despite the right-back keeping him on. Got forward fairly well and competed well when defending. EPA -
Jerome Boateng - 8, There were times where he needed help from his pacier teammates, but the German showed his intelligence and experience throughout to keep the clean sheet. PA -
Lucas Hernandez - 9, There were moments near the beginning where he looked vulnerable in one-on-one situations, but the Frenchman was brilliant when defending on the front foot, and barely put a foot wrong in the second half. Did superbly when Mbappe was running at him near the end, then gave Neymar the same treatment. AP -
Alphonso Davies - 7, His touch wasn’t always at its best, but the Canadian got up and down the pitch well. His pace proved key in helping his teammates deal with Mbappe at times. Getty -
Joshua Kimmich - 6, His weight of pass was off for large periods of the first half and the midfielder should have done better with his strike from range. Looked a bit neater in the second period. AFP -
David Alaba - 8, Showed real intelligence with a lot of his play, and it’s the Austrian’s effort that lead to the only goal. He also forced a good save from Navas with a strike from range. Booked for a foul on Neymar. AFP -
Leroy Sane - 6, Started really brightly but faded away for a period, with his effort at the end of the first half being so weak. Sparked into life at times in the second period but dragged an effort wide, then made the wrong decision right at the end. Getty -
Thomas Muller - 7, Showed his usual intelligence throughout the game, providing a lovely chance to set up Alaba’s shot that lead to the opener. Booked for a foul on Paredes. Reuters -
Kingsley Coman - 8, Looked very sharp throughout, barely giving Dagba a moment of rest. It was his ball into the box that resulted in the opener and there were other times where it looked as though he may cut his former side open. AFP -
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - 7, The frontman was wasteful at times but showed a predatory instinct to bundle the ball over the line for the game’s only goal. AFP -
SUBS: Jamal Musiala (Davies 71’) – N/R, Couldn’t quite find the connection needed when the ball came to him in the box. AFP -
Javi Martinez (Choupo-Mouting 85’) – N/R, Was seemingly used as a makeshift striker but struggled to have much of an impact at all. Getty
This time, the stakes are even higher, a place in a Champions League final at stake. The net worth of the players they instruct is bigger than it ever has been in the Poch-versus-Pep saga. PSG and City have spent more than any other club over the past five years building super squads capable of winning what be a first European Cup.
Any rivalry that stretches back more than quarter of a century is bound to have nourished the odd grudge. There have been spiky moments, when Poch-and-Pep turned Punch-and-Judy – not least when, at City, Guardiola called Pochettino’s Spurs "The Harry Kane Team". Pochettino took that as a sneer, and reminded his old adversary he never used to refer to Guardiola’s great Barcelona as ‘The Leo Messi Team’.
In 18 head-to-heads as rival coaches, Pochettino has won just three times, but that epic Champions League victory, of the Harry Kane Team over City two years ago – via a 4-3 second-leg defeat in Manchester that would have swung the other way but for a late City 'goal' being ruled out by a paper-thin VAR offside call – is burnt on the memory.
Might that dramatic night have a bearing on PSG-City? “Two different games, two different teams, a different contest,” insisted Pochettino. “The main thing is that this will be a battle between two great teams, nothing personal between him and me. Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world, and I respect hugely what he has done throughout his career.”
Neither coach was yesterday defining their opponent by a single player. PSG, so expensively assembled in the attacking positions are no more The Neymar Team than they are The Kylian Mbappe Team or The Angel Di Maria Team.
Yet to list those names is to spell out the very special capacity of Pochettino's front men to exploit, with speed and precise delivery, any space behind an opponent who pushes their defensive line up high, as City tend to. Bayern Munich and Barcelona, eliminated by PSG in the previous two rounds, both suffered against the French team's swift breaks.
“We are confident,” said Pochettino, “although I’d prefer to call it calm and relaxed. It will be a very hard game, City are having a fantastic season, and have huge talents, like Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne. You are talking about some of the best in the world, and they a very hard side to keep control of.”
Dortmund 1 City 2: player ratings
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BORUSSIA DORTMUND RATINGS: Marwin Hitz 7 - Had a tremendous game and kept City at bay until the penalty, for which he dived the right way but couldn’t stop Mahrez’s well-hit effort. Excellent distribution when under pressure. He made a great save to deny De Bruyne, but should have done better to keep out Foden’s goal at the near post. Reuters -
Mateu Morey 5 – The full-back was a weak link and City tried to exploit him by overloading players on the left. Reuters -
Manuel Akanji 6 – Had a good chance to double Dortmund’s lead soon after Bellingham’s goal, but his header didn’t trouble Ederson. At the other end, other than one mistake where he lost his footing, he stood his ground well. PA -
Matts Hummels 7 – Looked confident on the ball with both feet and showed his experience on numerous occasions. He started plenty of moves with his incisive passing, and worked with Guerreiro to double team Mahrez at every opportunity. Headed the ball against the post in the second half. AFP -
Raphael Guerreiro 6 – Got forward on the overlap several times on the left-hand side but rarely got the better of Walker. Reuters -
Emre Can 5 – Gave away a penalty when he handled Phil Foden’s cross. He stooped low to try and clear but got his angles wrong. It was one of several mistakes in which he lost the ball, or his man. AFP -
Mahmoud Dahoud 6 – Warmed Ederson’s gloves with a well-struck effort in the opening exchanges. He was involved in a fascinating tussle with Gundogan in which both players performed admirably. EPA -
Jude Bellingham 7 – The 17-year-old was a man possessed. He scored his first Champions League goal and became the youngest Englishman to score in the competition. He showed quick feet to get the ball onto his right foot, and then stroked the ball into the top corner. He then saved a shot off the line, but fizzled out in the second half. PA -
Marco Reus 6 – Saw a shot blocked by Kyle Walker as Dortmund went for a second goal. He later crossed for Hummels, who headed against the post. AP -
Ansgar Knauff 4 – A disappointing evening, and there’ll be question marks as to why he wasn’t replaced sooner. There was little of the usual pace or aggression in the press. Getty -
Erling Haaland 7 – Got the wrong side of John Stones in the build-up to the goal. Held the ball up well and brought others into play, but he was well marshalled by Stones and Dias overall. Reuters -
SUBS: Giovanni Reyna (Knauff, 68) 5 – Was brought on to try and exploit the space that Haaland created with his runs, but to no avail. AFP -
Thorgen Hazard (Dahoud, 75) N/A – Should have been introduced earlier, but he came on just before the corner that led to City’s goal and he probably could have been tighter to prevent the shot. AFP -
Julian Brandt (Bellingham, 81) N/A – Probably would have been frustrated not to start, but he couldn’t influence the game with nine minutes left on the clock. EPA -
Steffen Tigges (Morey, 81) N/A – A late addition who didn’t see much of the ball. AFP -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson 6 – The Brazilian was at full stretch but couldn’t keep Bellingham’s effort out of goal. He was solid throughout, though, and his distribution as impressive as ever. PA -
Kyle Walker 6 – Made a good block to deny Reus when Dortmund were on top, but didn’t offer City a great deal at either end. His pace is unquestionable, but he was one of the weak links. Getty -
John Stones 7 – Got the wrong side of Haaland in the build-up to the Dortmund goal, but recovered well to keep Dortmund at bay for the rest of the game. Reuters -
Ruben Dias 7 – Didn’t do enough to prevent Bellingham from finding the net, but otherwise did exceptionally well to keep the Norwegian quiet for much of the game. Made a key block shortly after Mahrez’s penalty. Getty -
Oleksandr Zinchenko 7 – Delivered a couple of crosses from the left hand side and threatened with a long-range effort. Reuters -
Rodri 7 – A very understated performance in which he was a steady influence in those moments of the game when Dortmund threatened. PA -
Ilkay Gundogan 6 – The German was everywhere, harassing Dortmund all over the pitch and quick to break when he went on the attack. Reuters -
Kevin De Bruyne 9 –City’s driving force and he came close to levelling when, after having won the ball back on the edge of the area, he struck an effort against Dortmund’s post. He came close again in the second half, but it was his overall work rate that marks him out as City’s standout player. AFP -
Riyadh Mahrez 7 – Came close to an equaliser when he emerged out of nowhere to get on the end of Foden’s hooked ball into the box, but his shot was blocked by Bellingham. However, he made sure later when he stepped up to convert from the penalty spot. AFP -
Phil Foden 8 – Scored City’s decisive second goal with a fierce shot from the edge of the area that was too much for Hitz at the near post. Earlier, he showed a great touch to bring the ball down before hooking it back to Mahrez for shoot. PA -
Bernardo Silva 6 – Was quick to respond after De Bruyne hit the upright, but his header on the rebound didn’t trouble Hitz. He later supplied a short corner to Foden for the second goal. EPA -
SUB: Raheem Sterling (Mahrez, 88) N/A – A late addition, Sterling looked a bit rusty. On one occasion, he ran into the area and was caught in two minds about what to do, before losing possession. EPA
