Post-match analysis: PSG secure a brilliant comeback to push Manchester City into the elimination zone
- Mayank Srivastava
- Jan 23
- 3 min read
Yesterday’s high-profile match in the UEFA Champions League saw the hosts, Paris Saint-Germain, secure an emphatic comeback against Manchester City on a cold, rainy night in Paris.
In a must-win game for both sides, Luis Enrique’s men came back from being 2-0 down to eventually win the game with a scoreline of 4-2. Quickfire goals from Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola cancelled out Manchester City’s 2 goal lead within just 7 minutes. Goals from Joao Neves and Gonçalo Ramos then sealed the deal for the Parisians.
Redemption for Luis Enrique and PSG
It was a game of redemption for Luis Enrique and his men, as they aimed to bounce strongly after a turbulent season so far. A crucial win, that too in such an emphatic manner would have done just that for them.
Enrique’s game plan was on point yesterday. His half-time substitution, which saw Dembélé come onto the pitch, turned out to be a masterstroke as the French star scored the equalizer for PSG just 16 minutes after coming on.
Enrique later decided to increase the intensity of the game, even after PSG’s equalizer, by bringing on Gonçalo Ramos and Zaire-Emery at the hour mark, which completely changed the tempo of the game. Ramos even went on to score the 4th goal for the Parisians to secure all 3 points for them.
PSG came into this game while being in the elimination zone. With the departure of Kylian Mbappé in the summer, the fans seemed quite worried about their team's chances to qualify for the next stage of the prestigious competition.
However, with this crucial win, PSG have climbed up to the knockout stages playoff zone in the Champions League points table, now standing at 22nd place with 10 points.
They now even have the possibility of securing an automatic qualification in the knockout stages in case they win their final league stage game, despite having a poor start to the new Champions League campaign.
Manchester City’s fate hangs by a thread
PSG's stunning comeback last night has pushed the ex-Champions League winners down the points table, into the elimination zone. City currently stand a place and a point away from the knockout stages playoff zone.
While City had their experienced defenders back in their backline after a long time, they still couldn't deal with the pace and the intensity of the PSG attackers, who ended up putting 4 past them.
City were also lucky to have scored 2 goals last night despite being wasteful with their big chances. According to SofaScore, the Sky Blues created 5 big chances and managed to convert just 2 of them, which also luckily landed in their path.
Impactful players such as Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne had a very quiet game. According to SofaScore, only Erling Haaland earned a 7.0+ rating in City's entire squad, as he scored City's 2nd goal.
Standing at the 25th spot currently, with just 8 points in 7 games, City’s abysmal campaign so far could result in them getting knocked out in the initial stages of the UCL for the first team under Pep Guardiola.
In fact, it would also be the first time ever in his illustrious career that Pep Guardiola would fail to lead his team to the knockout stages of the Champions League in any campaign.
City's fate will now be decided on the final matchday of the league stage as they face Club Brugge in a must-win clash. Even for Club Brugge, the clash against City will be a must-win one in order to secure a shot at qualifying for the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
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