Paris Saint-Germain completed a stunning comeback to beat Manchester City 4-2 with Pep Guardiola’s side now plummeting out of the Champions League knockout places.
City find themselves two points adrift of 24th-placed Stuttgart with their European future now hanging in the balance ahead of their final league-phase fixture against Club Brugge on January 29.
Only a victory will be enough for City to sneak into the play-offs. A win would leave them level on points with Brugge but with a superior goal difference, victory will be enough for City to escape the drop zone.
Second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland looked to have put Guardiola’s men in the driving seat but their defensive shortcomings were exploited yet again as they collapsed at the Parc des Princes.
Eleven minutes of pulsating action saw four goals fly in – with Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola drawing the hosts level – before the comeback was then completed by Joao Neves, who raced onto a cross at the back post to head his team into a late lead.
Goncalo Ramos adding a fourth in stoppage time only added insult to injury.
It is now 21 points dropped from winning positions for this barely recognisable City side, who now have a mountain to climb just to progress into the play-off stages. Winning against their upcoming Belgian opponents is non-negotiable.
Guardiola: Best team won
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says PSG were the better team after his squad dropped a two-goal lead at half-time to lose 4-2 in Champions League.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to TNT Sport:
“First half, they had the moments. We had one or two but they were better.
“We score in five minutes and then they score in five minutes. In that moment they believed. They were better. Quicker and faster.
“The best team won and we have a last chance at home to [Club] Brugge. It could happen. If we do not win, we do not deserve it. This is the reality, we did not get enough points and we have to accept it.”
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Danny Mills reacts as PSG pull two goals back against Manchester City after trailing at half-time
Grealish: We are losing too many leads
Man City forward Jack Grealish speaking to TNT Sport:
“Usually in these moments we are so good. It has happened too many times this season – going one, two or three goals up and not being able to see it out. In every other season we have been so good managing the games.
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish scores against Paris Saint-Germain
“I don’t know if it is a confidence issue. It is down to ourselves to change that moving forward and to win that game next week [vs Club Brugge].
“We have had games like this in recent season. Big pressure games and we are going to need that. It is down to us and we are really good at home.”
City cowering when the lights shine brightest
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
After watching that first-half display, the result has not shocked me. But the manner it arrived in is worrying for this City side.
Losses to Juventus, Sporting and now PSG, as well as squandering a three-goal lead against Feyenoord, are not just poor results. They are complete capitulations when the lights are shining brightest in Europe’s elite competition.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored the second goal for Man City in the 4-2 defeat to PSG
In the same week that the promising young duo of Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov arrived at the Etihad Stadium for a combined fee of over £60m, City have been handed their clearest indication that the reset button needs to be hit.
They are not the side we have grown accustomed to watching over the years and if they do fail to qualify for the knockout phases of the Champions League, it is because they do not deserve to be there, as Guardiola correctly pointed out.
Man City’s curse is spreading
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Ederson, remarkably, lost possession 14 times and his passing accuracy was just 63.16 per cent.
Both metrics are his worst return in a game for two and a half years.
He really didn’t help matters in that second half with his terrible decision-making when playing out. Even he has been struck by the Manchester City curse – just not at the same level as previous years.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout fixtures?
- Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
