Paris Saint-Germain completed a stunning comeback to beat Manchester City 4-2, with Pep Guardiola's side now out of the Champions League knockout places.
City sit two points adrift of 24th-placed Stuttgart and their European future now hangs in the balance ahead of their final league match against Club Brugge on January 29.
Second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland appeared to put Guardiola's men in the driver's seat, but their defensive shortcomings were once again exploited as they collapsed at the Parc des Princes.
Eleven minutes of pulsating action saw four goals fly in – Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola leveled for the hosts – before the comeback was completed by Joao Neves, who ran onto a cross at the back post to head his side into a late lead.
Goncalo Ramos adding a fourth in stoppage time only added insult to injury.
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Danny Mills reacts as PSG pull two goals back against Manchester City after trailing at half-time
They are now 21 points off the winning ways for this barely recognizable City side, who now have a mountain to climb just to progress to the play-offs. A win against their upcoming Belgian opponents is non-negotiable.
Guardiola: The best team won
Pep Guardiola watched his side collapse against PSG
Man City boss Pep Guardiola talk to TNT Sport:
“They had moments in the first half. We had one or two, but they were better.
“Us in five minutes, and then them in five minutes. At that moment they believed. They were better. Faster and faster.
“The best team won and we have the last chance at home (Club) Brugge. It can happen. If we don't win, we don't deserve it. This is the reality, we didn't win enough points and we have to accept it.”
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says PSG were the better team after his side blew a two-goal half-time lead to lose 4-2 in the Champions League.
Grealish: We're losing too much contact
Man City forward Jack Grealish talk to TNT Sport:
“Usually in these moments we are so good. It happened too many times this season – that we had one, two or three more goals and we weren't able to see it. Every other season we managed games so well.
Manchester City's Jack Grealish scores against Paris Saint-Germain
“I don't know if it's a confidence issue. It's up to us to change that going forward and win that game next week (against Club Brugge).
“We had games like this last season. Big pressure and we'll need it. It's up to us and we're really good at home.”
The city shrinks as the lights shine their brightest
Sky Sports' Patrick Rowe:
After watching that first half, the result didn't shock me. But the manner in which it arrived is worrying for this side of the City.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored Manchester City's second goal in a 4-2 defeat of PSG.
Losses to Juventus, Sporting, and now PSG, as well as squandering a three-goal advantage against Feyenoord, are not just bad results. These are complete capitulations when the lights shine brightest in Europe's elite competition.
In the same week that promising young duo Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov arrived at the Etihad Stadium for a combined fee in excess of £60m, City were delivered the clearest indication that the reset button needed to be pressed.
They are not the side we have come to see over the years and if they fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League it is because they do not deserve to be there, as Guardiola rightly pointed out.
The curse of Man City is spreading
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
Ederson, incredibly, lost possession 14 times and his passing accuracy was just 63.16 percent.
Both metrics are his worst returns in two and a half years.
He really didn't help matters in that second half with his terrible decision making on the play. Even he was affected by the curse of Manchester City – just not to the same extent as in previous years.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout matches?
- Play-off knockout round: 11/12 and 18/19 February 2025.
- Round of 16: 4/5 and 11/12 March 2025
- Quarter-finals: 8./9. and 15/16 April 2025
- Semi-finals: 29./30. April and 6/7 May 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025