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Paris Saint-Germain ended Manchester City’s unbeaten start under Enzo Maresca with a 4 to 2 Champions League victory at the Etihad Stadium on October 14. Three goals before halftime gave the defending European champions an advantage that City’s improved second half could not overturn.
Erling Haaland scored twice for the hosts, but goals from Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha and Maghnes Akliouche secured the points for Paris. The result handed Luis Enrique’s team its second victory from two matches in this season’s competition.
For City, the frustration was how differently the two halves unfolded. Maresca’s team created enough opportunities after the interval to threaten a recovery, having already allowed PSG to establish a commanding lead.
Two Early Goals Disrupt City’s Shape
Désiré Doué opened the scoring in the 13th minute after PSG worked the ball through City’s pressure. Just two minutes later, he helped create the second, combining with Ousmane Dembélé, who finished with a header.
Those goals changed the demands on the home side almost immediately. City needed to chase the game while still containing an opponent capable of moving the ball quickly through the spaces that opened up.
Vitinha added a third in the 32nd minute following a backheel from Warren Zaïre-Emery. PSG went into the break with a lead that reflected its clinical finishing and City’s difficulty responding to the opening setbacks.
Maresca later explained that conceding twice in such a short period had affected his players’ confidence and disrupted the distances between them. His assessment identified an issue beyond individual mistakes, City had struggled to preserve its collective shape once the match turned against it.
Haaland Leads a Recovery That Falls Short
City made three substitutions at halftime and returned with greater urgency. Haaland headed in during the 53rd minute, giving the hosts a route back into the contest with much of the second half remaining.
Paris then delivered the response that ultimately protected its victory. Maghnes Akliouche scored in the 62nd minute, restoring the visitors’ advantage to three goals just as City was building pressure.
Haaland struck again in the 75th minute, but PSG survived the remaining opportunities. Nuno Mendes produced a clearance near the goal line, while goalkeeper Matvey Safonov denied the Norwegian a third goal late in the match.
City also hit the woodwork three times. Those moments help explain why Maresca felt his team’s second half deserved a better return, although the chances could not undo the defensive damage sustained before the break.
Guehi Calls for a Better Defensive Foundation
Defender Marc Guehi welcomed City’s response after halftime but was critical of the opening performance. He said the team had conceded goals it should have prevented and needed to defend more effectively to give its attack a realistic chance of winning matches.
His point was straightforward. Even with a striker capable of scoring twice against the European champions, regularly needing four or five goals to recover from defensive problems would place an unreasonable burden on the forwards.
For PSG, the victory required both attacking quality and resistance under pressure. Its early combinations created the lead, Akliouche’s finish interrupted City’s comeback, and the defending in the closing stages ensured those advantages counted.
A Scoring Milestone Offers City Some Consolation
Haaland’s opening goal moved him ahead of Sergio Aguero as City’s leading scorer in the main Champions League competition. His second took his total for the club in the tournament to 38 goals.
The club’s comparison excludes qualifying matches, including Aguero’s three goals against Steaua Bucharest in 2016. That distinction matters when describing the record.
City now turns to a home Premier League match against Ipswich Town on Saturday, October 17. Maresca’s immediate task is to carry forward the attacking intensity of the second half while correcting the loss of organization that PSG punished so effectively.
