PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain showed that there is life in their UEFA Champions League campaign still with an incredible fightback from 2-0 down to win 4-2 against Manchester City at a rainy Parc des Princes on Wednesday. Trailing by two goals eight minutes into a miserably cold second half, Luis Enrique’s men only needed seven more to be back in with the game flipping from zero goals to four inside of the opening 15 minutes of the second half before winning it late on with two more goals.
Substitute Jack Grealish had given City the lead when he lashed home and that was doubled by Erling Haaland just moments later but the floodgates were only just opening as replacement Ousmane Dembele immediately hit back before Bradley Barcola leveled things up. The hosts were dominant for the final 30 minutes and threw everything at Pep Guardiola’s visitors as they sought a third goal and it came via the head of the industrious Joao Neves and a VAR-verified Goncalo Ramos strike.
PSG had enjoyed much of the early chances in the game with the home crowd elevated above their usual raucous levels thanks to a rousing pregame display which helped to channel the Parisien faithful’s collective energy from the start. The Portuguese midfielder was a bundle of energy that City struggled to get a handle on from the off while Desire Doue worked Ederson and Josko Gvardiol blocked a goal-bound effort on the line before Achraf Hakimi had a goal ruled out for offside before the break.
“There are a number of mixed emotions,” said the 20-year-old Neves postgame. “We dominated the first half and we should have returned better in the second half. They took control but we still managed to come back at 2-0. I am very happy for the team and that is the most important thing. We kept our same ideas and philosophy — that was the secret. We focused on the next ball and each play. This win is an important one. I am really happy, of course, but I am happiest about the result.”
Grealish’s opener was against the run of play yet very much in keeping with PSG’s Champions League form under Luis Enrique where chances are created in abundance but only a small number of those openings are actually converted. Haaland’s finish was inexcusable so soon after the opening goal and tarnished what had been a fairly good showing from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the big occasion which has rarely been his strong suit with PSG on big European nights.
Like last season away at Barcelona in the quarterfinals which required Paris falling further behind before finally going in front, Les Parisiens finally came to life and looked far more dangerous with substitute Dembele rattling the crossbar with a driven effort. The France international’s impact was instant as he arguably created more in a matter of minutes than Lee Kang-in had managed to do so over an entire half and had he been fully fit after his recent illness then he would have no doubt started the game.
PSG absolutely showed truly heroic character here and maturity beyond their relatively young age but the fact remains that one of the earlier opportunities being taken could have ultimately won them the game and the three vital points by a greater margin. That they responded as strongly as they did is incredibly positive but it does point to the irrefutable argument that Luis Enrique needs to turn this talented and young team into a hungrier and more clinical outfit capable of punishing teams on the big stage.
New signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will help with that if he can rekindle his Serie A-winning form with Napoli in the French capital alongside the likes of Dembele, Barcola, Doue and Ramos in attack but first Paris need to finish the job in Stuttgart. That they have flipped the script and suddenly plunged City into the elimination places to move inside the top 24 with a game to play from two goals down is a stunning achievement which shows that this PSG side has much more to give on the continental stage.
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