PSG Triumph Over Man City in Six-Goal Champions League Thriller Amid Financial Scandal
PSG dominate Man City in a thrilling six-goal Champions League clash. AFP-OLI SCARFF Paris Saint-Germain further soured the mood at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City's first home game since the guilty verdict on widespread flouting of Premier League financial rules ended in a 4-2 Champions League defeat on Wednesday.
The European champions turned on the style to strike three times inside the opening 35 minutes through Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha. But City stormed back in the second half as Erling Haaland scored twice either side of Maghnes Akliouche's strike that briefly restored PSG's three-goal cushion.
"When you see a game at this level, two teams trying to play football, that was the kind of game we thought it would be," said PSG boss Luis Enrique. "They created a huge amount of problems for us today.
The team that lost today were perhaps a bit unlucky." The 10-time English champions face swingeing sanctions unless they can successfully appeal the ruling of an independent commission last month, which found the club guilty on over 100 charges of financial impropriety. City shrugged off the uncertainty over their future to win 3-0 at Liverpool on Sunday and remain top of the Premier League, but PSG showed why they are the favourites to win this competition for a third consecutive season.
"It has been a bit of a strange game because we conceded two goals in two minutes," said City coach Enzo Maresca. "Second half we did enough to deserve something more." Former City manager Pep Guardiola returned to the Etihad for the first time since his departure in May, sat behind the club's embattled chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO Ferran Soriano in a show of solidarity.
City made passing reference to the guilty verdict with a lengthy pre-match video detailing the club's historic moments of celebration both before and after an Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in 2008 that transformed their fortunes. Behind one end supporters unravelled a giant banner reading: "I'm City till I die.
Disaster for Donnarumma Yet the fighting talk in the stands was not matched on the field as City were blown away by a scintillating first 45 minutes from the visitors. Gianluigi Donnarumma had a point to prove after the Italian goalkeeper was let go by Luis Enrique just months after helping deliver the club's first Champions League title in 2025.
However, it turned out to be a night to forget for the giant Italian. Donnarumma was caught out at his near post by Doue's effort from outside the box after a lightning counter-attack to open the scoring."