Paris Saint-Germain produced a remarkable comeback to beat Manchester City 4-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
This was billed as the showcase event of Game 7, despite both sides' struggles in Europe, with the stakes only raising the occasion. PSG's start was bright with 19-year-old Desire Doue testing Ederson's palms early as City had long-range success.
Kevin De Bruyne made a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma before Erling Haaland had a header easily saved by the Italian after neat work from Phil Foden.
The hosts' co-ordinated work without the ball meant that every build-up sequence was a stumbling block for City, who required perfection (or a bit of luck) to progress up the pitch. A great move late in the half saw Savinho get in behind, but Donnarumma saved again.
Then, just before the break, PSG thought they would have taken what might have been a deserved lead through Achraf Hakimi, but Nuno Mendes was ruled offside in the build-up to VAR intervention.
Some would suggest that the opening period was 'caged' but the second half was anything but. town looked to be in cruise control after scoring twice after the restart, with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scoring from close range, but PSG answered in an instant, and they returned to level at the hour.
Bradley Barcola inspired the hosts, with the winger teeing up Ousmane Dembele after waiting for Matheus Nunes to die, before retrieving Doue's effort, which bounced off the grass past Ederson.
All the momentum was with Enrique's side, and City failed to make it 2-2. The fifth goal was just a header, and the wonderful Joao Neves provided the decisive blow as he headed a PSG free-kick at the back post. Shocked, Guardiola's side failed to respond and Goncalo Ramos added gloss to the scoreline with the final strike of the game.
City now need a win on matchday eight just to get into the playoff round mix.
Read the full match report from PSG 4-2 Man City here.
|
Position / Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Gianluigi Donnarumma |
6.3/10 |
|
RB: Achraf Hakim |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: Marquinhos (c) |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Willian Pacho |
6.2/10 |
|
LB: Nuno Mendes |
7.6/10 |
|
CM: Vitinha |
8.1/10 |
|
CM: João Neves |
8.9/10 |
|
CM: Fabian Ruiz |
7.3/10 |
|
RW: Desire Doue |
7.1/10 |
|
CF: Kang-in Lee |
6.9/10 |
|
LW: Bradley Barcola |
8.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Ousmane Dembele (46' for Kang) |
8.6/10 |
|
UNDER: Goncalo Ramos (61' for Doue) |
7.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Warren Zaire-Emery (61' for Fabian) |
6.4/10 |
|
UNDER: Lucas Hernandez (81' for Barcola) |
6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Arnau Tenas (GK), Matvey Safonov (GK), Axel Tape-Kobrissa, Lucas Beraldo, Presnel Kimpembe, Yoram Zague, Senny Mayulu, Marco Asensio.
|
Position / Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Ederson |
5.1/10 |
|
CB: Manuel Akanji |
5.9/10 |
|
CB: Ruben Dias |
6.6/10 |
|
CB: If Guardiol |
5.1/10 |
|
CM: Matthew Kovacic |
6.1/10 |
|
CM: Bernardo Silva |
4.9/10 |
|
RM: Matheus Nunes |
6.9/10 |
|
AM: Kevin De Bruyne |
6.8/10 |
|
AM: Phil Foden |
7.0/10 |
|
LM: Savinho |
6.1/10 |
|
CF: Erling Haaland |
7.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Rico Lewis (46' for Dias) |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Jack Grealish (46' for Savinho) |
7.2/10 |
|
UNDER: James McAtee (70' for De Bruyne) |
6.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Ilkay Gundogan (70' for Kovacic) |
6.0/10 |
|
UNDER: John Stones (78' for Nunes) |
6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Scott Carson (GK), Max Alleyne, Jacob Wright, Nico O'Reilly.