Manchester City 2-4 Paris Saint Germain: result and report

Report

Paris Saint Germain won 4-2 at Manchester City because they took their chances early and decisively, even though City created more over the 90 minutes. The result was settled by a three-goal lead before half-time, not by the overall balance of play.

Désiré Doué opened the scoring on 13 minutes from Fabián Ruiz's pass, then set up Ousmane Dembélé two minutes later. Vitinha made it 3-0 on 32 minutes after Warren Zaïre-Emery's assist, so City were chasing the game well before the break.

Erling Haaland pulled one back on 53 minutes, set up by Iliman Ndiaye. Still, Paris Saint Germain restored the three-goal cushion on 62 minutes when Maghnes Akliouche scored from Dembélé's pass. Haaland struck again on 75 minutes from Ayyoub Bouaddi's assist, while Ferran Torres missed a penalty for Paris Saint Germain in the 90th minute.

Manchester City: more chances, fewer goals

The chance numbers point the other way from the scoreline. City finished with 3.15 xG to 1.96, created six big chances to three and made 23 key passes to 11. They also hit the woodwork twice, while Paris Saint Germain hit it once.

That volume did not turn into goals because City missed six big chances, compared with two for Paris Saint Germain. City also spent far more of the match pushing forward, with 70 dangerous attacks to 27.

The one counter-signal is accuracy. Paris Saint Germain put 10 of their 12 shots on target, against City's 9 from 16, so they were sharper when they did shoot.

Désiré Doué's decisive spell

Doué was named player of the match with a rating of 8.41. His goal and assist inside two minutes did more to decide this game than anything City produced afterwards. Haaland's two goals kept City in touch, though they never got closer than two goals behind.