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Manchester City qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Kylian Mbappe gave PSG the lead early in the second half, only for Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to give Manchester the victory. City is now assured of winning Group A with 12 points.
Despite the result, PSG is through to the round of 16 as well thanks to RB Leipzig’s 5-0 defeat of Club Brugge.
The French side is already 11 points clear of Nice atop the Ligue 1 table, but this season hasn’t been totally smooth sailing.
For a club where European success is the top priority and the clear measuring stick, draws with RB Leipzig and Club Brugge weren’t good enough. And now PSG has to operate with a cloud of uncertainty about the future of manager Mauricio Pochettino, whom ESPN’s Mark Ogden reported is the top candidate to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.
Monday nevertheless presented Paris Saint-Germain to make a clear statement and quiet some of the skeptics. Instead, the visitors were fortunate to be level by halftime.
Manchester City had 11 total shots in the first half to three for PSG. The reigning Premier League champions nearly went ahead in the fifth minute as Presnel Kimpembe cleared Rodri’s header off the line.
In the 18th minute, Achraf Hakimi got his head on a close-range effort by Riyad Mahrez to hold Manchester City at bay.
But the beauty of having a front three of Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi is that it only takes one moment to completely turn a match on its head. That’s what Paris Saint-Germain found in the 50th minute when the French forward was left unmarked in the 18-yard box.
Whether it was intentional from Pochettino or not, playing slightly defensively and riding your luck can work as a strategy when you have the attacking trio Paris Saint-Germain does.
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But PSG was unable to press its advantage further before Sterling leveled the score in the 63rd minute. Rodri floated the ball out to Kyle Walker, whose low cross eventually found Sterling on the far post for a tap-in.
City’s second was almost an inverse of its first as Bernardo Silva collected an aerial pass from Mahrez to the left of the goal and laid the ball off to Jesus for a straightforward finish in the 76th minute.
Paris Saint-Germain is moving on, so Wednesday wasn’t a total disaster. That will come as little solace, though, in light of a defeat in which PSG was clearly second best on the night.
This the kind of performance that provides ammunition to those who argue the club continues to be less than the sum of its parts, an issue that predated Pochettino’s tenure.
What’s Next?
City closes the group stage on Dec. 7 with an away fixture at RB Leipzig. Paris Saint-Germain face off with Club Brugge at the Parc des Princes.
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