Manchester City let another lead slip as they succumbed to a devastating 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
PSG were outstanding on home soil but found themselves two goals behind at the start of the second half. An immediate response got the Parc des Princes back onside, and they eventually roared past their frail visitors.
It was a memorable night for Luis Enrique and his team, but there's still work to do if they're to secure a play-off spot. City's defeat means they've slipped out of the top 24 in the league phase table and are at serious risk of exiting the Champions League before the knockout stages.
How the game unfolded
The heavy-hitters were in town with Paris Fashion Week ongoing, although Thomas Tuchel and Didier Deschamps likely won't be seen down the catwalk after enjoying Wednesday night's Champions League bout.
It was a sodden Parisian evening, one Owen Wilson (or, at least, his character in Midnight in Paris) oddly might've enjoyed a stroll in, but the conditions did facilitate some wonderful sequences of football between two highly-technical teams.
PSG were bright throughout the opening period, with their intensity without the ball dishevelling a City team who've shown signs of rediscovering their attacking potency as of late. PSG's press forced the visitors long, but the direct ball did give the hosts one or two problems early. Gianluigi Donnarumma, however, was merely forced into routine stops.
PSG's hustle out of possession was matched by their exuberance on it, but their excitable wide players initially lacked assertion in the final third. Thus, their best chance of the first half came from a set-piece as Fabian Ruiz had an effort cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol. Enrique's side then thought they'd taken a 1-0 lead just before half-time, but Achraf Hakimi's goal was chalked off after Nuno Mendes had strayed offside in the build-up.
Changes at the interval from both managers suggested neither were particularly pleased with what went down in the opening period, and one of Guardiola's entrants, Jack Grealish, made an immediate impact as he broke the deadlock with an emphatic 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 press by driving through the heart of the Parisiens' defensive structure before teeing up Grealish to cross.
City's early second-half blitz sucked the life out of a previously fervent Parc des Princes, but Bradley Barcola offered the hosts hope as he skinned Nunes with a wonderful piece of skill, drove into the box and teed up another substitute, Ousmane Dembele, to halve their deficit. The young French winger brought PSG level on the hour mark after a high turnover, and Barcola tapped home the rebound.
The Cityzens' issues from the first half against PSG's press manifested in the aftermath, and the hosts must've smelt blood. Guardiola's changes seemed to hinder the visitors, who couldn't escape Parisien pressure amid a cacophony of persistent roars from the ultras. Their capitulation was complete in the closing stages as the majestic Joao Neves headed home at the back post before Goncalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage time after City failed to muster any sort of response.
Player ratings
Check out the player ratings from PSG 4-2 Man City here.
Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique meet again
It's been a while since these two treble-winning managers with Barcelona faced off on the sidelines. Their last match-up arrived during Guardiola's first campaign with City, but the most memorable duel came when Guardiola took his Bayern Munich team to Camp Nou for the first leg of their 2014/15 Champions League semi-final against Enrique's Barca, losing 3-0 to the 'MSN'-inspired Catalans.
The current iterations of their respective teams are far from the best either manager has coached, but that didn't make away from the tactical spectacle on Wednesday night.
PSG's man-to-man pressure stymied City in the first half, with their collective effort a testament to Enrique's coaching. They were superbly drilled, but the hosts weren't brave or ruthless enough to take advantage of the mismatches they created against City's defence.
Guardiola's substitutes tilted the contest in the visitors' favour after half-time, but an Enrique switch - Dembele on for Kang - ensured PSG boasted a greater threat. The Frenchman got PSG back into the game, and PSG had more success while having two wingers constantly holding the width which relentlessly tested City's full-backs. Their outstanding work out of possession returned to the fore thereafter, with their energy refusing to cease, and they were able to pen Guardiola's side deep before Neves headed home the go-ahead goal.
This has to go down Enrique's most impressive night in Paris. His PSG team have occasionally looked naive, one-dimensional, and lightweight against stellar opposition, but they were better than Guardiola's team in almost every aspect on Wednesday night.
Man City's swift collapse
This once supreme force have not been adverse to dropping points from winning positions. Brentford only recently fought back from 2-0 down in the closing stages to earn a point against City, with Guardiola's team dropping 14 total in the Premier League and another five in this competition before tonight.
Who can forget the capitulation against Feyenoord?
Without their stabilising enforcer at the base of midfield. City are prone to collapses. Parc des Princes was tamed after Grealish and Haaland helped them into a 2-0 lead, but they were subject to a moment of magic from Barcola which brought PSG back into the game right away. Restoring control would've been their aim with PSG's tails suddenly up again, but then Mateo Kovacic, the man who's primarily been tasked with mitigating Rodri's absence, succumbed to the hosts' pressure, gave the ball away, and Barcola eventually equalised.
A lack of outlets and ball carriers allowed PSG to suffocate after restoring parity, and the hosts always seemed the more likely to score the fifth goal of the contest, completing City's collapse.
Everything at stake on final matchday
It looked like it'd be PSG with all the work to do on Matchday 8, but City's rapid demise and subsequent defeat means it's Guardiola's men who must win next week to merely progress into the play-off round.
The 2023 winners are winless in four league phase matches and have slipped to 25th in the table. They're two points behind Stuttgart, who PSG face next week, in the final play-off spot. Thus, only a win will do against a Club Brugge team that can't be underestimated at the Etihad. Anything but and City will unthinkably head out of Europe before February.
PSG's stunning comeback has seen them climb up to 22nd, but they're far from safe. There's still work for them to do at Stuttgart with their advantage over City in the table just two points. A point should be enough, but defeat in Germany will likely render this victory irrelevant.
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