It was a tale of two halves as Manchester City fell to a 4-2 defeat to PSG at the Etihad Stadium last night. In the first half, Luis Enrique’s side showed the world why they have won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles with what can only be described as a scintillating performance. However, in the second half, Enzo Maresca’s side fought back and in truth, they deserved to get something out of last night’s match given how well they played. Despite the fact that City were beaten by PSG, there were plenty of positives to take from last night’s match for Enzo Maresca’s side. Some of which will set City up for what lies ahead this season.
Manchester City showed plenty against the back-to-back European champions after being torn apart in the first half.
PSG played arguably the best football seen by a visiting team to the Etihad Stadium in the first half of last night’s match. Luis Enrique’s side raced to a 3-0 lead after 32 minutes. Watching PSG play in the first half of last night’s match, there isn’t a team anywhere who could contend with them when they are in that mood. At halftime of last night’s match, it did seem that Manchester City could be about to be torn apart by PSG.
However, Enzo Maresca’s side showed great character and team spirit to fight back at the Etihad Stadium in the second half. After Maresca made three substitutions at halftime, his team responded. They took the fight straight back to PSG. City launched raid after raid on the PSG goal and when Erling Haaland pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute, it seemed that a famous comeback could be on.
But that hope only lasted 8 minutes when Gianluigi Donnarumma contrived to save a Maghnes Akliouche shot into his own net in the 61st minute to make it 4-1 to PSG. Erling Haaland would make it 4-2 in the 75th minute as his team continued to fight. Manchester City continued to fight and push PSG back but ultimately lost the match.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for Manchester City to take from the match. The fight and character of this City team is one. Also, this new-look City side can compete with, and dominate the very best in Europe. That was impossible to ignore in the second half. So while City lost to PSG last night, they showed more than enough to suggest that they are a quality outfit in their own right and should only further improve in time.
Enzo Maresca believes that his team will learn a lot from last night’s defeat to PSG.
Speaking after his team went down 4-2 to PSG, Enzo Maresca told the media that his team will learn from how last night’s match unfolded. Especially the first half. In an interview published on mancity.com, Maresca said: “From tonight’s game, we can learn many things.”
“Even if we concede two goals against the best team in Europe, we need to do the right things. I continue to learn from the players because I just arrived three months ago.”
“We concede the first goal and then after one minute, concede the second one against this kind of team it’s already difficult when you are at 0-0. In two minutes you concede two goals and we lost a bit of balance, distance between players.”
“We struggled but then in the second half we made changes, adjusted something and we were much better.”
Also, Enzo Maresca believes that his team is close to being there. He added that PSG manager Luis Enrique told him that his team was lucky to leave the Etihad with all three points. Maresca added: “We are there; my feeling is we are close. In the first half, we struggled because we conceded two goals and inside the pitch you think ‘Oh my god.’”
“Luis [Enrique] at the end told me they had been quite lucky. We lost, [but] we can learn from that and move on.”
Conclusion.
It can be forgotten that this is a new-look Manchester City side still learning to play together and under a new manager. They are far from the finished product. For the opening 45 minutes of last night’s match, that stood out. Especially when PSG clicked into gear and showed why they have won back-to-back Champions League titles. The opening 45 minutes was a learning experience for this City side. It was almost a lesson they had to learn.
However, as Maresca pointed out, Manchester City were exceptional in the second half. They returned to Luis Enrique’s side and then some. On another night they could have easily left the Etihad with a point or possibly more. That is where the positives lie for Enzo Maresca’s side. They showed tremendous courage and character to fight back. Also, they showed their quality. Yes it is a concern how PSG tore through City in the first half. But come the final whistle there was far more good than bad to take from the match. The lessons learned by this City side last night should set them up for the road ahead.