Paris St-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium, with the Champions League holders producing a ruthless first-half display that left City facing a 3-0 deficit at the break. City’s second-half revival came too late to save the points.
It was City’s first home game since being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations, and the club returned with a defiant, “us against the world” stance. Pep Guardiola, who won trophies at the stadium over a decade in charge, attended in a public show of support for chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano. The Catalan sat a row behind the pair, wearing a flat cap and keeping a low profile.
Guardiola is backing his former bosses to clear their names on appeal, despite the guilty verdict handed down by an independent commission. The stand bearing his name displayed a “CTID” (City ‘Til I Die) mosaic, and the build-up to kick-off featured fireworks and pyrotechnics worthy of several rock concerts.
A devastating first half
The show of defiance quickly gave way to a football lesson. PSG overwhelmed City before the interval, with Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha finding the net as City were ripped apart. The stadium that had roared Guardiola’s name at kick-off fell silent within the first 15 minutes.
City, so composed amid the toxicity of Anfield the previous Sunday, where they won 3-0 at Liverpool, looked shell-shocked. Even combative midfielders such as Enzo Fernandez were reduced to chasing shadows. Luis Enrique’s side made the half-time score of 3-0 look kind to City.
City fight back
Manager Enzo Maresca made three half-time changes, and City responded strongly after the break, creating a host of chances. Erling Haaland gave the home side hope, and Josko Gvardiol had a header cleared off the line. Maghnes Akliouche’s effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the ball dropped behind the goalkeeper and into the net. City could not recover all the ground lost in the first half, but their fans created a frenzied atmosphere and gave the team a rousing send-off at the final whistle.
Guardiola was animated throughout. He clutched his face in anguish when Gvardiol’s header was cleared, and he pumped his fists when Haaland scored.
Reaction
Maresca felt his side had enough to take encouragement into a possible future meeting with PSG in the Champions League. “I really like playing against PSG because they are brave,” he said. “They are the best team in Europe. They play fantastic football.
“The reason why we struggled was because we conceded two early goals so quickly. In the second half we created enough to maybe deserve something. We feel sorry for the first half but I think we’re quite happy now.”
Former City defender Nedum Onuoha, watching for Match of the Day, called it “great entertainment” but “not a normal game of football”. “PSG were excellent in the first half, and City looked really off the pace,” he said. “In the second half they rallied, and it was shot after shot from City. At this stage, it is just goals, goals and more goals.”
Enrique’s side added another Champions League scalp to a list that already includes Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. With the Premier League in limbo while City await sanctions and the result of their appeal, Maresca’s team now turns its attention to a home match against Ipswich Town on Saturday.