PSG defeated Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night in a UEFA Champions League thriller, racing into a three-goal first-half lead before surviving a spirited second-half fightback inspired by Erling Haaland.
The reigning European champions were devastating in the opening 35 minutes. Desire Doue opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Ousmane Dembele doubled the PSG lead barely a minute and a half later, and Vitinha added a third in the 32nd minute to leave City reeling.
It was City’s first home game since an independent commission found the club guilty of more than 100 charges relating to alleged financial misconduct between 2009 and 2018, a verdict that leaves the English champions facing the prospect of severe sanctions unless their appeal succeeds.
City hit back after the break through two Haaland headers in the 53rd and 75th minutes, either side of Maghnes Akliouche’s strike for PSG in the 62nd minute, but the French side held on to maintain their perfect start to the defence of their European crown.
PSG’s three-goal blitz in 19 devastating minutes
PSG’s opener came against the run of play. Fabian Ruiz fed Doue on the counter-attack, and the France winger cut in from the left before drilling a low strike into the bottom-left corner. Just 99 seconds later, Doue turned provider, combining with Dembele for the latter to head home from point-blank range.
The third was the pick of the bunch. Vitinha arrived at the edge of the box to slam home first-time, completing a 19-minute blitz that made City concede three goals in the first half of a competitive home game for the first time since a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in 2015.
City’s response after half-time was emphatic. Substitute Iliman Ndiaye crossed for Haaland to head beyond Matvey Safonov in the 53rd minute, and the Norwegian struck again 22 minutes later to raise hopes of an unlikely comeback. But Akliouche had already restored the visitors’ three-goal cushion in between, and City could not find a way through a third time despite hitting the woodwork twice and seeing Nuno Mendes produce a brilliant goalline clearance.
Guardiola watches on as PSG deepen City’s gloom
Former manager Pep Guardiola, who left in May after a decade and 20 trophies, returned to his old ground for the first time to watch from the stands in a show of solidarity with the club’s leadership. Before kick-off, City screened an extended video celebrating landmark moments in their history, and supporters unveiled a giant banner reading “I’m City till I die.”
On the pitch, Enzo Maresca’s side had responded positively to the off-field turmoil in recent days, beating Liverpool 3-0 on Sunday to stay top of the Premier League. Maresca, who had won his first eight games since succeeding Guardiola, suffered his first defeat as City manager despite his team registering 27 shots and nearly 54 percent possession.
City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, facing his former club, at least had a personal moment of redemption when he saved a late Ferran Torres penalty, but it was PSG’s night in Manchester.
What next for PSG and City
PSG have now won both of their Champions League games this season, scoring 10 goals in the process, and they travel to face Barcelona next week as the team to beat in Europe. Luis Enrique admitted afterwards that his side had ridden their luck, conceding that City’s second-half chances could easily have turned the game around.
The defeat also extended an unwanted recent record for City against the French champions. PSG beat them by the same 4-2 margin when the sides last met in the Champions League in January 2025, underlining how the balance of power in this heavyweight fixture has shifted towards Paris.
For City, the focus now shifts to their appeal against the commission’s ruling, which will define the club’s future far more than any single result. On the field, Maresca will take encouragement from the fightback, but the defensive collapse in the first half-hour exposed vulnerabilities that better teams will continue to target.