PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain pulled off a stunning comeback to overturn a 2-0 deficit and seal a 4-2 win against Manchester City that revived their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes and left Pep Guardiola’s team facing a humiliating exit.
Two goals in three minutes from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland at the start of the second half looked set to seal a comfortable win for City in Paris, but the home side roared back to equalise within seven minutes through Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola.
With City on the back foot and struggling to cope with PSG’s spirit and desire, Luis Enrique’s team then won the game with goals from João Neves and Gonçalo Ramos on a famous night at Parc des Princes. PSG will now qualify with at least a draw away to VfB Stuttgart next week while City must beat Club Brugge at the Etihad to have any hope of reaching the knockout phase playoffs. — Mark Ogden
A magical night for the Parisians
It’s another one of those European nights that PSG fans will never forget. Too often, the Parisians had been on the receiving end of comebacks in their recent Champions League history. It was them with their hearts broken after having taken the lead before wasting it, but not this time.
The game might not have been make-or-break — as neither team could have been eliminated on Wednesday — but it was nevertheless crucial, and PSG showed their character, talent, and personality. This team might not have the superstars and big world-class names anymore like Neymar and Lionel Messi, but showed great heart with their talent and their energy. They also have belief too, despite their young players.
At 2-0 down straight after the break, they could have collapsed, but they didn’t. Their comeback could be a turning point in this European campaign, but they will have to finish the job next week in Stuttgart to qualify. — Julien Laurens
City blow a lead and cave in yet again
For those who believed that Manchester City’s recent mini-revival of four wins in five games had drawn a line under their slump of nine defeats in 12 games before Christmas, think again.
Guardiola’s team reverted to their old ways in Paris by throwing away a lead through complacency and a lack of being able to match the opposition for effort and desire. This was the ninth time this season that City had surrendered a winning position and failed to win the game. That is the reason they are now in such a hole in the Champions League.
There were so many issues against PSG. City lacked any kind of leadership once defender Rúben Dias was substituted at half-time due to being on a yellow card and close to a second one that would have reduced the side to 10 players, but they were also unable to match PSG for energy in midfield.
Out wide, Savinho was anonymous before being replaced by Grealish at half-time, and although the England winger scored one and made one within eight minutes of coming on, he did little else. Rico Lewis was poor at left-back and Matheus Nunes was out of his depth at right-back. However, despite all of the problems, with a 2-0 lead, City should have seen the game out.
This means that the crisis is back and City showed once again that their squad is nowhere near as good as it was two years ago. — Ogden
A tactical first half followed by an attacking second half
Guardiola and Luis Enrique have been close friends for 30 years. They are the same age, they played together at Barcelona, they coached together and they ended up being two of the best managers in the world at the same time by sharing similar values, methods, and principles.
Of course, they have differences in their personalities and their football, but when they faced each other tonight, we got what we expected: a very tactical first half, narrow lines, compact blocks, good pressing and counterpressing.
But between two attacking sides and full of talent going forward, there was no way this match was staying 0-0 after the break. And it didn’t.
Mistakes were made and exploited, on both sides. When Manchester City were gifted two goals really by two ricochets off the Paris defence, the hosts scored their goals. They put the City defense under pressure, and in the second half, you got six goals, 23 shots (18 for PSG, five for City), nine on target, and more than three xG (expected goals) combined.
After one of the best tactical halves of the season, the game flipped to one of the most spectacular halves of the season. — Laurens
Haaland needs to be more than a tap-in guy
Haaland probably thought he had won the game for Manchester City when he scored a tap-in at the far post to make it 2-0 in the 53rd minute.
When a striker scores the decisive goal in a game, he is entitled to feel like it is a job well done and bask in the plaudits, but when the game slips away from his team and they end up losing, he needs to ask whether he did enough to make a difference.
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And the reality in Paris was that Haaland didn’t. Aside from scoring, Haaland did nothing. He was well marshalled by Marquinhos and looked nothing like a player who has just signed the longest contract in football by penning a new deal for 10 years. Haaland is unquestionably a ruthless goal scorer, but when he doesn’t score, he contributes nothing.
Other great strikers do far more for the team and bring others into play, but for now, Haaland is just a goalscorer. That surely cannot be enough for City to be successful in the years ahead? — Ogden
Barcola shows why he is PSG’s star player this season
Bradley Barcola had only scored one goal in 16 Champions League appearances in his career before Wednesday, and if there was one game where he needed to step up to improve this stat, it was against Manchester City.
The adage that big games belong to the big players made sense for him. In a must-win game for Paris, they needed Barcola to be special. He has the talent for it, but so far, the top European competition was showing his limits. But his goal and his assist in a breathtaking second half, is the game that can change everything. The former Lyon winger and PSG’s top goalscorer this season in all competitions, showed all his talent and potential.
“His season is exceptional so far,” said Luis Enrique about his player at the weekend. It became even better on Wednesday night. — Laurens
It’s now win or bust for City
Manchester City are now fighting for Champions League survival and must beat Club Brugge next week to progress to the knockout phase playoffs.
Their 4-2 defeat in Paris saw the 2023 Champions League winners drop below the trapdoor of the top 24 teams and leave them facing an early exit from the competition if they fail to beat the Belgian side at the Etihad. Such a game would have been a formality not too long ago, but even though City will be favourites to clinch the win they need, Brugge need just a point to be certain of qualification.
Coach Nicky Hayen has overachieved with his team this season, guiding them to wins against Aston Villa and Sporting CP as well as earning a draw against Juventus on Tuesday.
All three of those teams have beaten City this season, so City should be warned. — Ogden
