It was, it seemed, the future of the Champions League. Except for a couple of details. One was that, due to Covid, the Etihad Stadium was deserted. And the other was that, in May, the ground staff still had to shovel the hailstones off the pitch. So it was scarcely the picture of glamour the fixture list suggested.
But in other respects, that 2021 showdown looked the shape of things to come: a semi-final between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. For some, it was Abu Dhabi against Qatar; for others, a battle of the rising forces, the nouveaux riches who were coming to dominate their domestic leagues. PSG had reached the final of the previous season’s Champions League. City were to succeed them as runners-up after a last-four meeting decided by a Parisian, Riyad Mahrez.
