Paris Saint-Germain continued their impressive Champions League form with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
The defending champions scored three goals in the first half before surviving a strong comeback attempt from the hosts.
Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and Maghnes Akliouche scored for PSG, while Erling Haaland struck twice for City. PSG made a brilliant start and took control with two goals in quick succession.
Doue opened the scoring before Dembele doubled the visitors’ lead. Vitinha then added a third in the 32nd minute to leave City facing a difficult task.
The French side became the first visiting team to score three first-half goals against City at the Etihad in the Champions League. City struggled to deal with PSG’s attacking movement and went into the break trailing 3-0.
However, the hosts looked much better after halftime. City coach Enzo Maresca made three changes at the break, bringing on Matheus Nunes, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye.
The changes helped City take control of the game as they began creating chances.
Haaland pulled one back in the 53rd minute with an excellent header from Ndiaye’s cross. City continued to push forward and looked capable of reducing the deficit further.
However, Akliouche restored PSG’s three-goal advantage in the 63rd minute. The French midfielder turned away from defenders and fired a powerful shot towards goal. City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma got a hand to the ball but failed to keep it out.
Despite falling 4-1 behind, City refused to give up.
Haaland struck again in the 75th minute with a close-range finish to make it 4-2. The Norwegian also hit the crossbar with a header before PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov denied him another goal in the closing stages.
Haaland’s two goals took his Champions League tally to 61 in just 60 appearances. PSG had a chance to add a fifth goal when they received a penalty late in the match.
However, Donnarumma saved Ferran Torres’ spot kick to prevent further damage. City continued attacking until the final whistle but could not find another goal.
The victory gave PSG six points from their opening two Champions League matches, while City suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
