Manchester City returned to the welcoming surroundings of home for the first time since being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations awash with defiance and presenting an 'us against the world' united front.

Pep Guardiola was back at the place he decorated with success for a decade in a public show of support to embattled chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano, the Catalan a low-key presence clad in a flat cap sitting a row behind the pair.

Guardiola sometimes looked just as engaged as he did when he prowled the touchline here at Etihad Stadium, collecting the trophies now being called into question.

When Josko Gvardiol had a header cleared off the line Guardiola clutched his face in anguish. When Erling Haaland scored a goal that threatened to offer Manchester City an unlikely lifeline, he remained seated but pumped his fists into the air.

If Guardiola was a neutral observer, he would have relished a game of glorious chaos, the first half embellished by Paris St-Germain before City mounted superb momentum after the break.

As a lover of pure football with the emphasis placed firmly on attack, he may have enjoyed it anyway. The post-match discussion with Enzo Maresca would certainly have had a busy agenda.

Maresca felt he saw enough to give City hope should they meet PSG again later in the Champions League, despite the manner in which they were dismantled in the first half.

"I really like playing against PSG because they are brave," said Maresca. "We know the way they want to press. They go man-to-man and they are very dynamic on the ball. They are the best team in Europe. They play fantastic football.

"We feel sorry for the first half but I think we're quite happy now."