MANCHESTER City’s chances of Champions League progress are in peril after they lost a two-goal lead to slump to defeat against Paris St-Germain at Parc des Princes.
On a torrid, rain-lashed night in Paris, all the frailties that have haunted City in a season of decline were laid bare as Pep Guardiola’s side crumbled dramatically in the face of PSG’s pace and creation.
City’s defeat means they risk elimination from the Champions League as they stand 25th in the table, having to win their final game at home to Club Brugge next Wednesday.
It was pure theatre in Paris after Manchester City looked to have turned the game in their favour when substitute Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland struck twice in the first eight minutes of the second half.
PSG, however, had City’s defence living on its nerves all night and hit back instantly when substitute Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola levelled the game before the hour.
Dembele then struck the bar before the outstanding Joao Neves headed home Vitinha’s free-kick after being left unmarked, and City’s agony was compounded in stoppage time when, after a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check, Goncalo Ramos’ powerful strike gave the scoreline a more realistic appearance.
City barely deserved the lead that close finishes from Grealish and Haaland had given them, but PSG’s power, pace and quality enabled the dramatic comeback that deepened the gloom surrounding the Premier League champions this season.
Guardiola stood soaked and stunned on the sideline as he witnessed a collapse on a scale he has rarely witnessed in his managerial career, let alone from his all-conquering Manchester City side.
Guardiola’s team looked old and laboured, devoid of pace and highly vulnerable on a sobering night that illustrated the scale of the rebuilding job Guardiola faces.
He has already started, confirming before the game that new young defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras, are ready to be thrown into Premier League action.
On the grim evidence of a chilling night in Paris, they may get their chance sooner than they expected.
