Man City lost a 2-0 lead and lost 2-4 to PSG in the Champions League. Everything became chaotic from the beginning of the second half and coach Pep Guardiola had to admit that the Blue Man “deserved to be eliminated”.
After the first half ended with a 0-0 draw, both coaches made important changes in the second half. For Man City, Guardiola brought Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis onto the field. Captain Ruben Dias was substituted, along with Savinho, and that brought a different dimension to the second half.
Meanwhile, PSG coach Luis Enrique also made a big impact when he put Ousmane Dembele on the field to replace Lee Kang-in. Then chaos ensues …
Minute 50
Grealish made an immediate impact. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tried to block Bernardo Silva’s shot, but the ball reached Grealish and he put the ball into the net with a powerful close-range volley. There was anger in the finish and celebration. The England star just ended a year-long goalless drought when he scored against Salford City.
Minute 53
Parc des Princes fell silent when Erling Haaland increased the score to 2-0. The striker just signed a new 9 and a half year contract last week, reminding fans of the image of Guardiola’s powerful Man City. Grealish dribbled the ball down the left wing before crossing inside. The ball hit Joao Neves’s foot and landed in Haaland’s position and the striker fired a shot from close range that Donnarumma couldn’t block.
Haaland cushioned the ball to increase the score to 2-0 for Man City
Minute 56
From silence to chaos. The Parc des Princes stadium erupted as PSG pulled a goal back. Dembele put his stamp on the game with a neat finish following Bradley Barcola’s superb dribbling and passing effort. In this situation, Barcola overtook Matheus Nunes and sprinted towards the goal while Dembele slowed down to escape his marker before scoring. Hope appeared in the stands.
Minute 60
Barcola turned the game around with an equalizer. Desire Doue shot the ball and hit the crossbar. And while Ederson fell before he could react, Bacola easily cushioned the ball from close range. PSG players celebrated very excitedly but quickly ran straight to the midfield line. They sensed the panic in Man City’s defense and realized they could win.
Minute 78
Vitinha took the free kick and sent the ball to the far corner, where Neves was unmarked. John Stones was closest but not close enough and could not clear the ball, allowing the PSG midfielder to rush in for a header. The home team had many chances before, when Dembele hit the crossbar and Haaland escaped a penalty for handball.
Minutes 90+3
The final crazy moment in a crazy second half. Goncalo Ramos easily escaped behind Man City’s defense and shot into the top corner to beat Ederson. He looked offside and the flag was raised but VAR showed that the ball had previously touched Josko Gvardiol. PSG players and fans went crazy when the goal was awarded – and the 4-2 victory was completed.
What did Pep Guardiola say?
“They were faster and stronger than us. They won the duels, we couldn’t cope,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “The stronger team won. The game never went as we wanted. To defend the result you have to keep the ball but we didn’t. They had more of the ball, they attacked better “.
“It could happen (Man City not making it to the knockout round and being eliminated). We’ll see. If we don’t win (against Bruges), we don’t deserve to go through. All games Our matches away from home are difficult but that’s the reality.