Paris Saint-Germain answered an old wound with a night of control and counterpunching at the Etihad, beating Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City after a match that swung violently across both halves. PSG had been humbled by Chelsea in the 2025 Club World Cup final, a defeat 458 days earlier which denied Luis Enrique’s side a historic seven-trophy season. This time, with Pep Guardiola watching from the stands, the French champions built a three-goal lead, survived City’s aerial response and left Manchester with a defining European result.
PSG strike before City can settle
- Maresca began with Jérémy Doku in the side after his impact at Anfield, while Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol came in at full-back to give City greater defensive security. Luis Enrique restored Nuno Mendes and Ousmane Dembélé after brief breaks, with Warren Zaïre-Emery selected in midfield.
- The match was the first at the Etihad since City admitted breaches in 114 of the 115 Premier League financial-rule charges brought against them. The atmosphere matched the occasion, and the opening exchanges were frantic.
- Zaïre-Emery registered PSG’s first attempt after winning possession high up the pitch, although Gianluigi Donnarumma, facing his former club, dealt with it comfortably.
- City soon threatened at the other end. Rayan Cherki nearly won a penalty from Marquinhos, before an Enzo Fernández corner was turned onto the bar by PSG goalkeeper Matvei Safonov as he attempted to clear.
- PSG escaped City’s press superbly in the 13th minute and found their route down the right. Fabián Ruiz switched play to Désiré Doué, whose near-post shot beat Donnarumma for the opener.
- Within a minute, City were two behind. Dembélé combined with Doué across the area before arriving at the far post to head home his teammate’s delivery.
- The home side lost command of the ball and began to hesitate over whether to press. PSG sensed the opening: Achraf Hakimi struck the post with a header, then Vitinha made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute. Akliouche pulled the ball back, Zaïre-Emery cushioned it with his heel and Vitinha placed his finish from the edge of the box.
- Elliot Anderson attempted to drive City forward before the interval, but Doku’s tame shot at Safonov was their only meaningful threat. At half-time, Maresca replaced Doku, Rúben Dias and Cherki with Matheus Nunes, Bouaddi and Ndiaye.
City’s comeback falls short
- The substitutions brought an immediate change. City created more danger in the opening 10 minutes of the second half than they had before the break, repeatedly supplying crosses into the PSG area.
- Enzo Fernández and Ndiaye missed opportunities, but Erling Haaland did not. The Norwegian powered in a header to move beyond Sergio Agüero as Manchester City’s leading Champions League scorer.
- Semenyo then hit the bar from an offside position shortly after the restart, as PSG struggled to regain their earlier authority. Luis Enrique consulted assistant Rafel Pol while City pressed for a second goal.
- PSG found relief through Akliouche, who beat Donnarumma with a finish that exposed the goalkeeper’s soft hand and restored the visitors’ breathing space.
- Yet City continued to push. Nuno Mendes cleared Gvardiol’s flicked header from the line after another Enzo Fernández set piece, and Fernández then hit the frame of the goal. Haaland also headed against the crossbar.
- With 15 minutes remaining, Haaland scored again after Bouaddi recovered possession and supplied him. Safonov then denied the striker a hat-trick, ending City’s final realistic chance of dragging themselves level.
- PSG had an opportunity to complete a five-goal win when Nunes brought down Nuno Mendes in the area late on. Ferran, back at the Etihad, took the penalty, but Donnarumma read his effort and made the save.
For Maresca, whose City side had won every match since losing to Arsenal in the Community Shield, the defeat ended an early-season run at the moment Europe demanded the most. PSG, meanwhile, showed that the scars of that Club World Cup final have not faded; they have been turned into fuel for another continental campaign.
