There are Champions League evenings that leave a lasting impression. A month after a first festival against Slovan Bratislava, Paris Saint-Germain struck a huge blow on Wednesday, winning 4-2 on the pitch at Manchester City, despite having been flawless since their inaugural setback during the Community Shield with seven victories in as many matches.
In the first half, the spectators at the Etihad Stadium even witnessed a true masterpiece. In line with its best European performances in two years, PSG stifled its opponent with bold and assertive all-terrain pressing, leaving the Citizens no breathing space. Total commitment, constant dynamism and clinical efficiency allowed the Parisians to return to the locker room with a three-goal lead which seemed to seal the deal.
The second period was nevertheless much more complicated for the Parisians and this contrast between the two halves did not surprise Luis Enrique. “I don’t like to be up three goals at half-time, because you think the game is won. And a match of this level is never won before the final whistle! We suffered a lot in the second half, they deserved to score. With a little less luck, we could have lost,” he said at the end of the meeting.
“In the first half, it was exceptional”
The return from the locker room sounded like a rude awakening. Stung, Manchester City put its transmissions in order and increased the pressure, taking advantage of a guilty retreat from the Parisian bloc. Vitinha, lucid on the microphone, nevertheless had an explanation for this air gap: “We’re playing away in a difficult stadium against a fantastic team, and it’s true that the truth is a bit what happens in the second half. It’s more real. What we managed to do in the first half was exceptional, we could even score more goals, but there you go, we also know how to support each other…”
This second period obviously reassured Enzo Maresca. “To be honest, I think we’re there. I have the feeling that we are here, that we are not far away, he also said after the match. We struggled in the first half because we conceded two goals quickly. We know it’s already very hard against them and we say to ourselves ‘oh my God, we’re already down by two goals now’. So it gets even more complicated. But in the second half, we created enough chances to deserve a better result. But we lost and we can learn from this defeat and move forward.”
