Manchester City squandered its lead again after a brutal 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening.
Paris Saint-Germain was impressive at home, but found themselves two goals behind at the start of the second half. An immediate response brought the Parc des Princes back to normal, and they eventually overtook their vulnerable visitors.
It was a memorable night for Luis Enrique and his team, but there is still work to do if they are to secure a play-off place. City's defeat means they fall out of the top 24 in the league table and are at serious risk of being eliminated from the league. UEFA Champions League Before the knockout stages.
How the game unfolded
The heavy hitters were in town as Paris Fashion Week continued, although Thomas Tuchel and Didier Deschamps likely won't be seen on the catwalk after enjoying Wednesday night's Champions League match.
It was a dreary Parisian evening, and Owen Wilson (or at least his character in the movie) was there. Midnight in Paris) Oddly enough, I enjoyed walking around, but the circumstances facilitated some fantastic football sequences between two highly technical teams.
PSG were in hot form throughout the opening period, their intensity without the ball unsettling a City side who have shown signs of rediscovering their attacking firepower of late. Paris Saint-Germain's pressure forced the visitors to take a long lead, but the direct ball gave the hosts one or two problems early on. However, Gianluigi Donnarumma had to make a routine stop.
PSG's dash for possession was matched by their enthusiasm for it, but their wide-ranging players initially lacked assertiveness in the final third. Consequently, their best chance of the first half came from a free kick, as Josco Gvardiol cleared Fabian Ruiz's shot off the goal line. Enrique's side then thought they had a 1-0 lead before half-time, but Achraf Hakimi had a goal disallowed after Nuno Mendes was shown offside early in the attack.
The changes made by both managers in the intervening period suggested that neither was particularly happy with what transpired in the opening period, and one of Guardiola's new arrivals, Jack Grealish, made an immediate impact when he broke the deadlock with a brilliant finish from close range.
Grealish was involved again minutes later as City doubled their lead through Erling Haaland. Matheus Nunes was responsible for breaking PSG's pressure by driving through the heart of the Parisians' defensive structure before passing Grealish to cross.
City's early attack in the second half took the life of the Parc des Princes, but Bradley Barkola gave the hosts hope when he flayed Nunes with a piece of exquisite skill, entered the penalty area and passed another substitute, Ousmane Dembélé, into the box. Reduce their deficit by half. The young French winger equalized for Paris Saint-Germain on the hour mark after a high turnover, and Barkola slotted home the rebound.
The Citizens' first-half woes against PSG's press emerged in the aftermath, and the hosts must have smelled blood. Guardiola's changes seemed to hamper the visitors, who were unable to escape the Parisian pressure amid a cacophony of constant roars from the ultras. Their capitulation was complete in the final minutes as Joao Neves headed in at the back post before Goncalo Ramos added the fourth goal in stoppage time after… city It failed to muster any kind of response.
Check out the player ratings for Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Man City here.
It has been a long time since these two treble-winning managers faced off with Barcelona on the sidelines. Their last match came during Guardiola's first season with City, but the most memorable encounter came when Guardiola took his Bayern Munich team to Camp Nou for the first leg of the 2014/15 Champions League semi-final against Enrique's Barcelona, losing 3-0 to the inspired Catalans. “MSN”.
The current iterations of their team are far from the best either coach has coached, but that didn't take away from the tactical spectacle on Wednesday night.
PSG's man-to-man pressure frustrated City in the first half, and their collective effort was a testament to Enrique's coaching. They were superbly coached, but the home side were neither brave nor ruthless enough to capitalize on the mismatch they created against City's defence.
Guardiola's substitutes tipped the score in favor of the visitors after the end of the first half, but Enrique's substitution – Dembele coming on for Kang – ensured that Paris Saint-Germain had a greater threat. The Frenchman brought Paris Saint-Germain back into the match, and Paris Saint-Germain He had more success with two wingers constantly maintaining width which relentlessly tested City's full-backs. Their excellent work out of possession then came back to the fore, and with their energy never letting up, they were able to fire Guardiola's side deep before Neves headed home.
This has to be Enrique's most impressive night in Paris. PSG's side at times looked naïve, one-dimensional and lightweight against quality opposition, but they were better than Guardiola's side in almost every aspect on Wednesday night.
This higher power was not adverse to dropping points from winning positions. Brentford recently came back from a 2-0 deficit in the closing stages to earn a point against City, with Guardiola's side dropping 14 points in total. Premier League And five others in this competition before tonight.
Who can forget the capitulation against Feyenoord?
Without a stability port at the base of the midline. The city is at risk of collapse. The Parc des Princes were tamed after Grealish and Haaland helped them to a 2-0 lead, but they were treated to a magical moment from Barkola that immediately put PSG back in the game. Regaining control was their goal with PSG's tails suddenly high again, but then Mateo Kovacic, the man primarily tasked with relieving Rodri's absence, succumbed to the home side's pressure, giving the ball away, and Barkula eventually equalised.
A lack of outlets and ball-carriers meant PSG suffocated after recovering parity, and the home side always looked the most likely to score the fifth goal of the game, completing City's collapse.
It looked like it would be PSG with all the work they had to do in Round 8, but City's quick demise and subsequent defeat means it is Guardiola's men who must win next week just to advance to the play-off round.
The winners of the 2023 edition are without a win in four matches in the league stage and fell to 25th place in the table. They are two points behind Stuttgart, who Paris Saint-Germain will face next week, in last place. Therefore, only a win will do the trick against a Club Brugge team that cannot be underestimated at the Etihad Stadium. Anything but that, and City will be inconceivably eliminated from Europe before February.
Paris Saint-Germain's stunning comeback has seen them climb to 22nd place, but they are far from safe. They still have work to do in Stuttgart, where they are just two points above City in the table. A point should be enough, but defeat in Germany would likely make this victory insignificant.
