It ought to have been over. In previous times it surely would have been. Erling Haaland had tapped in from close range shortly after Jack Grealish, on as a substitute, had broken the deadlock. There were 53 minutes on the clock and Manchester City looked ready to breathe life into their ailing Champions League campaign.
And yet the current edition of Pep Guardiola’s serial Premier League champions have come to lack the old certainties. They are vulnerable to high-tempo flurries from the opposition. The idea for them was to prove they were back, having moved on from that horror run of one win in 13 from the end of October. They had won four of their previous five.
Instead, they fell apart. Again. Paris Saint-Germain were electrified by Bradley Barcola who made their first goal for Ousmane Dembélé, on as a substitute, and scored the second himself. Guardiola had reshuffled his defence at half‑time when Rúben Dias was forced off with injury, Rico Lewis entering at left-back, Josko Gvardiol moving into the middle.
City were a shambles at the back – poor on the ball, the spaces opening up with alarming regularity, no protection from the midfield where City were outnumbered.
The PSG goal for 3-2 had been signposted and it came after another Guardiola tweak to the backline with John Stones coming on in the centre, Gvardiol reverting to the left and Lewis switching to right-back. They continued to look like strangers.
It was a Vitinha free-kick, Stones missed his header and there was João Neves stooping beyond the far post to score. The power in his diving header was too much for Ederson.
The prospect of a City equaliser was remote to non-existent. It was over. PSG ran riot in the closing stages, creating a clutch of clear openings and they were value for the late fourth, bent home by Gonçalo Ramos. Initially, the goal was ruled out for offside but the VAR spotted the touch that sent him through had come off Gvardiol.
PSG are back in business. It has been a remorselessly trying campaign for them, their schedule so tough. They have had Arsenal and Bayern Munich away; PSV Eindhoven, Atlético Madrid and now City at home. They kicked off below the cutoff for the playoff rounds and they will still need a draw in the final round of group ties at Stuttgart next Wednesday.
What about City? If they defeat Club Brugge at home next Wednesday they will book their place in the playoffs but nobody can expect them to do so on this evidence. Their Champions League season had already been scarred by the defeats at Sporting and Juventus; the draw at home against Feyenoord, too, when they surrendered a 3-0 lead. Now this.
If the second half was sensational – this raucous venue rocking, PSG throbbing with intensity – the first period had felt like an extended sizing‑up exercise. That said, there were chances, including some big ones, none bigger than that for Fabián Ruiz in the 27th minute. He was all alone in the box following a corner, City’s defence having broken down, but his shot was cleared off the line by Gvardiol.
The margins were tight. PSG had the ball in the net before the interval when Barcola teed up Achraf Hakimi, his shot flashing home with the aid of a deflection but the VAR pulled it back for a marginal offside against Nuno Mendes in the build-up. Neves had headed high when unmarked at the back post on 11 minutes.
For City in the first half, Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho got into good positions but were thwarted by big Gianluigi Donnarumma blocks. Haaland could not quite get over a header, allowing the goalkeeper to save.
City threw off the shackles at the start of the second half, making bold runs and, in what felt like the blink of an eye, they were two goals to the good. The first was fired by Manuel Akanji pulling a stop‑and‑go move on Mendes and getting his cross in from the byline. Donnarumma blocked well (again) from Bernardo Silva at close range but, after a double deflection off Marquinhos and Donnarumma, the ball fell to Grealish.
The second was all about a striding diagonal run by Matheus Nunes and a little bit more fortune when Grealish’s cutback was played inadvertently into Haaland by the stretching Neves. Haaland could not miss from point-blank range.
The Parc was not silent for long. Barcola had been criticised for his Champions League performances. Here was the answer. He was too skilful for Nunes, streaking past him and away from Mateo Kovacic to square for Dembélé to score. And he was so quick to react after Desire Doué had cut inside and rattled the crossbar with a curling shot. Barcola’s first-time finish was steered inside the far corner.
PSG pressed hard on to the front foot. City’s heads spun. Dembélé nutmegged Silva to crash a shot against the crossbar and, after Neves’s goal, they poured on the pain. Dembélé had a goal ruled out for an offside and Ederson denied Ramos at close quarters. Ramos and PSG were not finished.
Source: theguardian.com
