MANCHESTER - 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 Oct 14.

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.

“We try to win every single match. We try to score. We don’t stop if we score one or two goals. It’s very nice to feel that but I have to repeat, today we were lucky because in the second half we could have conceded more goals.”

The 10-time English champions face swingeing sanctions unless they can successfully appeal the ruling of an independent commission in September, 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 Oct 11 and remain top of the Premier League, but PSG showed why they are the favourites to win this competition for a third consecutive season.

“From tonight we can learn many things,” said City coach Maresca. “Even if we concede two goals (in two minutes) against the best team in Europe, we need to continue.

“I try to continue to learn from the players because I just arrived three months ago, but the feeling at the moment is very good.”

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.

Luis Enrique’s decision to leave Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the bench proved to be inspired as it meant Doue started wide on the left.

Gianluigi Donnarumma had a point to prove after the Italian goalkeeper was let go by the PSG coach 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.

The move for the second goal two minutes later was even more impressive as Doue and Dembele exchanged an elaborate one-two before the latter headed in at the far post.

Achraf Hakimi hit the post before Vitinha rattled in PSG’s third from the edge of the box.

Maresca responded with a triple substitution at half-time and managed to salvage some pride, even if the deficit proved too much to overturn.

Antoine Semenyo and Enzo Fernandez missed glaring chances to pull a goal back even before Haaland glanced home a header from Iliman Ndiaye’s cross.

Yet, City were hit by a sucker punch when Donnarumma got a hand to Akliouche’s effort but the ball looped high into the air and spun back into the net.

Nuno Mendes made a brilliant clearance off his own line and Haaland hit the bar before the Norwegian slotted home his second of the night.

Donnarumma saved a late Ferran Torres penalty to deny the French champions a fifth goal.

But in the battle between two state-backed projects that have reshaped European football, Qatar-owned PSG are the top dogs right now as City face up to a scandal that leaves their litany of trophies over the past 15 years open to question. AFP