When these teams met in Paris a couple of months ago, Manchester City bossed the game but PSG still won by two. In Manchester, the Citizens didn’t quite dominate as much, but they came away with what matters most: more goals.
Manchester City rallied for a 2-1 win over PSG to clinch top spot in Group A on Wednesday, avenging a 2-0 defeat to the Parisians on Sept. 28. Combined with RB Leipzig’s 4-0 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday, PSG booked its spot in the knockout rounds as the second-place finisher in the group.
Assuming you were able to watch (Paramount+ crashed during the match), fans were treated to a clash of the two richest clubs in the world. On the visitors’ side, Lionel Messi, Mbappé and Neymar and lined up together, the Argentine looking in fine form with an early nutmeg of Raheem Sterling. On the home side, Pep Guardiola went with a front line of Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez.
The first half was a tale of two teams taking turns at indifferent possession. Man City created a few chances but PSG rarely threatened.
The match warped into life in the second half.
Man City vs PSG Highlights
PSG took the lead a bit against the run of play when a Messi cross found Mbappé on the back post and the Frenchman went five-hole on Ederson.
Immediately after going down, Guardiola made a change in his midfield, removing Oleksandr Zinchenko and bringing on striker Gabriel Jesus.
City’s response on the pitch came 13 minutes later, when Kyle Walker’s cross eventually reached Sterling to poke home.
Level at 1-1, the match devolved into a basketball game, both teams sprinting up and down the pitch getting shots off nearly every possession.
It looked like PSG had worked a beautiful team goal — one that included Messi, Neymar, Mbappé and Angel Di María — but Neymar couldn’t wrap his left foot around the shot and stubbed it wide.
NEYMAR COULDN'T CAP OFF THE PERFECT TEAM MOVE pic.twitter.com/FVqrDXuEWk
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 24, 2021
The miss proved to be a turning point, because moments later Gabriel Jesus who fired Man City in front with a classic Guardiola goal.
PSG appeared to tire as the match went on and Man City held on for the 2-1 win, a deserved victory.
The result confirms one of the other group winners will have the unenviable task of playing PSG in the Round of 16 next year.
