Manchester City vs Paris Saint-Germain. UEFA Champions League. Man City were beaten by PSG in first Champions League outing since Premier League handed down its guilty verdict; Pep Guardiola was in attendance alongside club’s high-ranking executives; PSG scored three first-half goals to take control; Erling Haaland responded by scoring two Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Manchester City were beaten 4-2 by a majestic Paris Saint-Germain as Pep Guardiola watched on from the stands in an enthralling Champions League encounter. The reigning back-to-back European champions were keen to make their power felt early at the Etihad, in a game that made clear where the greater concentration of quality resides.
Luis Enrique’s side were breathtaking in the first half, a masterclass in effortless control with and without the ball. Desire Doue scored from range. Ousmane Dembele rounded off a wonderful team move 99 seconds later. And Vitinha finished a brilliant first 45 minutes with a thumping finish from Warren Zaire-Emery’s instinctive flick.
“If you don’t go toe-to-toe, you struggle,” reflected Enzo Maresca. A pair of Erling Haaland goals made the scoreline respectable after the interval, and City were good value for both breakthroughs, doing to PSG what had been done to them in the first period. They hit the woodwork a further two times in a half that became increasingly more frantic and transitional. Despite wave after wave of attack and big chances missed, it was Gianluigi Donnarumma who failed to escape the glare of the spotlight, his poor handling gifting Maghnes Akliouche and the visitors a fourth.
He atoned by denying Ferran Torres’ woeful penalty attempt late on. PSG’s first-half blitz proved decisive and sobered the atmosphere around a fairly muted Etihad, but Maresca will take comfort from the way his side turned a would-be rout into a thrilling clash of titans. As well as being two of the earliest clubs to fall foul of UEFA’s financial rules back in 2014, Man City and PSG shared one other thing in common before combining to win three of the past four Champions League titles: They had won none of the previous 67. Each lost their first Champions League final – PSG to Bayern in 2020 and City the following year to Chelsea.
But with both clubs backed by free-spending owners from the Middle East, boasting some of the most talented squads in world football, that deficiency has since become a surplus. With City now fighting against charges of financial rule-breaking on a domestic front, all of which the club deny, the decision was made for a show of unity on home turf. Guardiola was flanked by high-ranking executives in the terraces, including Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano. They will have seen plenty they liked on the pitch, City’s players appearing laser-focused on the job at hand despite the cloud of uncertainty that surrounds them.
Ultimately, this is a defeat of fairly insignificant jeopardy where chances and goals made for a superb watch between two European contenders. The world of football will continue to tune in to see how City handle whatever might come next. Whenever that might be. Sky Sports’ Ben Ransom at the Etihad: Where do you start trying to make sense of that?
Pep Guardiola was back for a bonkers night, with his former side showing plenty of the strengths and weaknesses that displayed themselves in different ways during his tenure. The City fightback at least means his visit won’t be characterised by a humbling defeat. PSG were the better side overall and deserved the win, but on another night the scoreline could have been reversed, given the number of chances that went begging for the home side. The City fans might not get to see their side in this competition next year, but as they made clear before kick-off, this is a fanbase that has stood by the club during dark times before, and is promising to do so again.
Man City boss Enzo Maresca: “It was a strange game. Two goals in two minutes created some problems for us. We were dead in the game, and then second half we created so many chances. Second half, we were good.
“We lost a bit of balance, distance between players, and we struggle first half. Second half we made changes and adjusted some things, then we were much better. These kind of teams, if you don’t go toe-to-toe you struggle. We had to be more brave.
Second half, we were. “We are there, to be honest. My feeling is that we are close. It’s already difficult against PSG, but then you concede two quick goals.
We can learn from that and move on.” Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m! Enter for free.
