Crazy Second Half: PSG Concede Two but Score Four to Beat Man City
The seventh round of the UEFA Champions League's group stage saw a high-stakes clash between two European giants, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. With both sides on the brink of the playoff zone—PSG sitting in 26th place and City in 24th—the match promised fireworks, and it certainly delivered.
The first half saw early exchanges of dangerous shots from Lee Kang-in and Kevin De Bruyne, both of which were denied by goalkeepers Ederson and Gianluigi Donnarumma. City survived a scare midway through the first half when a shot from Fabián Ruiz was heroically cleared off the line by Joško Gvardiol. Just before halftime, PSG thought they had taken the lead through Achraf Hakimi, but the goal was ruled out due to a marginal offside call on Nuno Mendes.
Second Half Madness
The second half began with a bang, with tactical changes by both managers yielding immediate results. Jack Grealish, introduced by Pep Guardiola, made an instant impact, smashing home a rebound in the 50th minute after Donnarumma saved an initial effort from Bernardo Silva, only for the ball to deflect off Marquinhos into Grealish’s path.
Just three minutes later, Grealish turned provider, with his pass deflecting off Vitinha into the path of Erling Haaland, who made no mistake in slotting it into the net to put City 2-0 up.
However, PSG responded in style. Substitute Bradley Barcola surged down the left wing and found Ousmane Dembélé, who fired past Ederson to pull one back for the hosts. On the hour mark, a thunderous shot from Warren Zaïre-Emery struck the crossbar, with Barcola reacting quickly to slot the rebound into the far corner—2:2.
PSG Take Control
PSG continued to push, with Dembélé almost putting his side ahead after nutmegging Silva and rattling the crossbar. Moments later, Rúben Neves came close but fired just wide.
The breakthrough finally came in the 78th minute when Vitinha delivered a pinpoint free-kick, and Matheus Nunes expertly directed his header into the near post to give PSG a 3-2 lead.
City had a chance to equalize through İlkay Gündoğan, but his shot whistled past the top corner. In stoppage time, Gonçalo Ramos sealed the win, capitalizing on a defensive error from Gvardiol to beat Ederson and confirm PSG's 4-2 victory after a brief VAR review.
With this dramatic win, PSG leapfrogged City into 22nd place, while the reigning Premier League champions dropped to 25th, leaving their qualification hopes hanging in the balance.
2024-25 UEFA Champions League
PSG - Man City 4:2 (0:0)
Goals: Grealish, 50 (0:1); Håland E., 53 (0:2); Dembele O., 56 (1:2); Barcola B., 60 (2:2); Neves J. P., 78 (3:2); Ramos G., 93 (4:2)
PSG: Donnarumma G.; Marquinhos; Mendes N.; Hakimi; Vitinha F.; Neves J. P.; Pacho; Fabian Ruiz (Zaire-Emery, 61); Doue D. (Ramos G., 61); Lee Kang-in (Dembele O., 46); Barcola B. (Lucas Hernandez, 81)
Bench: Safonov M.; Tenas; Beraldo L.; Zague; Kimpembe; Asensio; Mayulu
Yellow Cards: Mendes N. 23
Man City: Ederson; Akanji; Gvardiol; Dias R. (Lewis R., 46); De Bruyne (Mcatee, 70); Kovacic M. (Gundogan, 70); Matheus Nunes (Stones, 78); Bernardo Silva; Foden; Sávio Moreira (Grealish, 46); Håland E.
Bench: Alleyne; Ortega S.; Wright; O'Reilly
Yellow Cards: Dias R. 10
