Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City (Champions League 2024-25)

UEFA Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain Manchester City 4 2
BBC Report UEFA Report
Event	2024–25 UEFA Champions League
Date	Wednesday 22 January 2025
Venue	Parc des Princes, Paris
Player of the Match	João Neves
Referee	Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Attendance	47,818
Weather	8 °C ( °F) Humidity:100% Wind:4 km/ h
← PSG - Lens Man City - Ipswich PSG - Reims Man City - Chelsea →

Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City was a match which took place at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday 22 January 2025.

Preview

The French champions have won six of their seven games since Matchday 6, scoring 17 goals. They came from behind for a 2-1 Ligue 1 victory at Lens on Saturday, Bradley Barcola scoring an 86th-minute winner.

The sole exception was a 1-1 draw at Lens in the last 64 of the French Cup, a tie Paris won 4-3 on penalties.

On 15 January holder Paris were 4-2 winners at fifth-tier Espaly in the round of 32 thanks to late goals from Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos. They will visit Le Mans in the last 16.

Ousmane Dembélé, who sat out Saturday's victory due to illness, has six goals in his last five games.

Dembélé scored twice in a 2-1 defeat of St-Étienne on 12 January as Paris reached the halfway stage of the Ligue 1 season as the unbeaten leaders (W13 D4).

On 5 January Paris lifted the French Super Cup thanks to Dembélé's added-time strike that secured a 1-0 win against Monaco. Paris have claimed the trophy a record 13 times.

Marquinhos has missed the last three games with an adductors injury.

Senny Mayulu was out between 9 November and 12 January with a calf injury.

Presnel Kimpembe, who has not played since 26 February 2023 with a ruptured Achilles, was an unused substitute in the last two matches.

On 17 January Paris announced the signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli; the club's first Georgian player has signed a contract until 2029.

The Matchday 6 loss at Juventus was the first of three successive defeats for City, who went down 2-1 both at home to Manchester United – conceding two late goals – and at Aston Villa.

City are unbeaten in their subsequent six matches (W4 D2), winning 6-0 at Ipswich on Sunday – their biggest Premier League victory since 31 August 2022. Despite wins at Leicester on 29 December (2-0) and at home to West Ham on 4 January (4-1) they have only four wins in City's last 13 Premier League matches (D3 L6).

Phil Foden scored twice at Ipswich to make it five goals in his last three Premier League matches.

On 14 January Pep Guardiola's side conceded twice in the final eight minutes to draw 2-2 at Brentford.

City have already dropped 28 points this season – their most in an entire Premier League campaign since 2020/21.

A second-half James McAtee hat-trick helped City to an 8-0 win against Salford in the FA Cup third round on 11 January, Jack Grealish converting a penalty for his first club goal since 16 December 2023.

City will visit third-tier Leyton Orient in the fourth round.

Rúben Dias played 90 minutes on Sunday having been sidelined by a calf injury since 15 December.

John Stones, who was out between 23 November and 21 December with a foot problem, was replaced at half-time of his return at Aston Villa with an ankle injury and has not played since.

Rodri suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal on 22 September and has undergone surgery that is expected to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Oscar Bobb suffered a leg fracture in training on 14 August.

Former City captain Tony Book died aged 90 on 13 January. He led the club to the league title in 1968, the FA Cup a year later and the European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup in 1970, also winning the League Cup as manager in 1976.

On 17 January City announced that Erling Haaland had signed a new contract until 2034. The Norwegian's goal at Ipswich made it 17 in 22 Premier League appearances in 2024/25 and four in his last four.

Match Report

Manchester City's chances of Champions League progress are in peril after they lost a two-goal lead to slump to defeat against Paris St-Germain at Parc des Princes.

On a torrid, rain-lashed night in Paris, all the frailties that have haunted City in a season of decline were laid bare as Pep Guardiola's side crumbled dramatically in the face of PSG's pace and creation.

City's defeat means they risk elimination from the Champions League as they stand 25th in the table, having to win their final game at home to Club Brugge next Wednesday.

It was pure theatre in Paris after Manchester City looked to have turned the game in their favour when substitute Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland struck twice in the first eight minutes of the second half.

PSG, however, had City's defence living on its nerves all night and hit back instantly when substitute Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola levelled the game before the hour.

Dembele then struck the bar before the outstanding Joao Neves headed home Vitinha's free-kick after being left unmarked, and City's agony was compounded in stoppage time when, after a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check, Goncalo Ramos' powerful strike gave the scoreline a more realistic appearance.

City barely deserved the lead that close finishes from Grealish and Haaland had given them, but PSG's power, pace and quality enabled the dramatic comeback that deepened the gloom surrounding the Premier League champions this season.

Guardiola stood soaked and stunned on the sideline as he witnessed a collapse on a scale he has rarely witnessed in his managerial career, let alone from his all-conquering Manchester City side.

City, knowing defeat would leave them on the brink in the Champions League, were fortunate to survive a first-half assault from PSG that saw Joao Neves head wide of an open goal, Josko Gvardiol clear off the line from Fabio Ruiz, while Achraf Hakimi also had a goal ruled out for offside.

Ruben Dias was removed at half-time after a first 45 minutes of toil, and suddenly the clouds looked to have cleared for City with those two goals.

Instead, when the old City would have finished the job, this latest version were run ragged by a vibrant PSG, who actually did not deserve to be behind, let alone two goals adrift.

City were all at sea as PSG went up the gears, the final score of 4-2 not reflecting the fierce going-over they were given as the tables were turned on them.

Guardiola's team looked old and laboured, devoid of pace and highly vulnerable on a sobering night that illustrated the scale of the rebuilding job Guardiola faces.

He has already started, confirming before the game that new young defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras, are ready to be thrown into Premier League action.

On the grim evidence of a chilling night in Paris, they may get their chance sooner than they expected.

City boss Guardiola said his friendship with old Barcelona cohort Luis Enrique would endure forever, but there was no doubt who won this sporting battle in Paris.

Guardiola hoped his half-time changes of Grealish and Rico Lewis for Savinho and the struggling Dias would spark his team into life, and when City took that 2-0 lead it seemed the ploy had worked.

Instead it was the maverick Dembele, also on at half-time for Lee Kang-in, who changed the course of the game with an explosive display of raw pace and rich talent.

In tandem with the outstanding Barcola, he helped PSG rip City to shreds in the second half, the home side looking to rack up more goals in the final stages rather than letting Guardiola's team back in.

Tonight at least, this was vindication of PSG's strategic decision to switch from the era of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar to a younger, more unsung team.

And, with a thrilling climax set up by the final round of games, the new Champions League format has also come into its own.

Match

Details

22 January 2025 21:00	Paris Saint-Germain	4–2	Manchester City	Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 47,818 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
	Dembélé  56' Barcola  60' Neves  78' Ramos  90+6'	BBC Report UEFA Report	Grealish  50' Haaland  53'

Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester City

01 Gianluigi Donnarumma 02 Achraf Hakimi 05 Marquinhos 51 William Pacho 25 Nuno Mendes 23' 87 João Neves 17 Vitinha 08 Fabián Ruiz 61' 14 Désiré Doué 61' 19 Lee Kang-in 46' 29 Bradley Barcola 81' Substitutes: 03 Presnel Kimpembe 09 Gonçalo Ramos 61' 10 Ousmane Dembélé 46' 11 Marco Asensio 21 Lucas Hernández 81' 24 Senny Mayulu 33 Warren Zaïre-Emery 61' 35 Lucas Beraldo 39 Matvey Safonov 42 Yoram Zague 48 Axel Tape 80 Arnau Tenas Manager: Luis Enrique

31 Ederson 27 Matheus Nunes 78' 25 Manuel Akanji 03 Rúben Dias 46' 9' 24 Joško Gvardiol 20 Bernardo Silva 08 Mateo Kovačić 70' 47 Phil Foden 47 Kevin De Bruyne 70' 26 Savinho 46' 09 Erling Haaland Substitutes: 05 John Stones 78' 10 Jack Grealish 46' 18 Stefan Ortega 19 İlkay Gündoğan 70' 33 Scott Carson 56 Jacob Wright 68 Max Alleyne 75 Nico O'Reilly 82 Rico Lewis 46' 87 James McAtee 70' Manager: Pep Guardiola

Match Stats

• Match Stats

Overall	Paris Saint-Germain	Manchester City
Goals scored	4	2
Total shots	26	9
Shots on target	9	6
Ball possession	63%	37%
Corner kicks	11	6
Fouls committed	10	10

See also

• 2024–25 UEFA Champions League

External links

• Match report at BBC.co.uk
• Match report at UEFA.com