Manchester City’s hopes of securing a top-four spot in the Women’s Champions League are looking increasingly slim after a third successive draw dragged out their wait for a first European victory of the season, by virtue of Paris Saint-Germain’s late leveller at a disappointed Joie Stadium.

City thought they had won the game through Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw’s 85th-minute penalty, as their heavy pressure was finally rewarded, but conceding a goal sparked PSG into life and they snatched a point with a scrappy equaliser three minutes later as their substitute Tara Elimbi Gilbert found the net from close range.

PSG sought to frustrate City in the first half, and succeeded after riding out an early storm. Shaw’s header dropped wide at the far post from Aoba Fujino’s third-minute cross, as the home side made a bright start but were unable to score while on top. Shaw fizzed a low strike narrowly wide 11 minutes later after terrific play from Lauren Hemp.

In front of a fairly quiet crowd in a disappointingly flat atmosphere, Andrée Jeglertz’s team controlled possession but did not test the PSG goalkeeper, Oliwia Peda, in the early stages, and PSG – who sit second in the French top-flight table, three points behind the leaders, OL Lyonnes – began to grow in confidence, but clear-cut chances were few and far .

After draws away to Bayern Munich and at home against Real Madrid, City knew they needed a victory to bolster their chances of qualifying for the knockout phase, and a win was surely a must if they were to seek a top-four finish to secure automatic progression to the quarter-finals. Those two opening draws were certainly not poor results, against strong opposition and with theoretically kinder fixtures to come, so there was no need to panic, but the English champions’ 11th-placed position in the table, only one above the final qualification spot, before kick-off will nonetheless have looked a little concerning to some of their supporters.

Determined to climb that table, City were working the ball into space well and utilising Hemp, Fujino and Grace Clinton’s good movement, but the final ball appeared to be escaping them as PSG sat relatively deep, with seasoned Champions League regulars such as Jackie Groenen helping marshall their midfield and Griedge Mbock Bathy holding firm at centre-back. Jennifer Echegini, a deadline day transfer target for City in September, was also impressing for the visitors.

This tricky game came in a testing week for City, sandwiched in between last Sunday’s Manchester derby – where they dropped points for the first time this season after conceding a late equaliser – and this Sunday’s mouthwatering WSL fixture away against in-form London City Lionesses and their Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas, who sit just one place and three points behind them in the WSL. Nobody in sky blue could afford to think about that game yet, though – PSG were no pushovers.

Straight after the restart, Fujino went close for City as she latched onto Kerstin Casparij’s clever ball and shot over from a tight angle. Fujino, a livewire throughout the night, also saw a shot blocked by Thiniba Samoura, as the hosts began to ask tougher questions. Jeglertz made a triple change just after the hour mark, bringing on Mary Fowler, Iman Beney and Niamh Charles for Clinton, Casparij and Rebecca Knaak respectively, with the last of those enabling the City captain, Alex Greenwood, to switch inside to centre-back as Charles came on as an attacking left-back.

That gave City greater impetus in attack and they soon created another good chance, Shaw’s powerful low shot turned behind by Peda for a corner. From the resulting delivery, curled in expertly by Greenwood, Shaw had a free header but was unable to connect. Fowler then scuffed a shot wide as frustrations began to mount. Shaw headed wide again moments later.

Surely the WSL’s top goalscorer was not going to fire a blank? Indeed not. She finally broke the deadlock after winning a spot-kick, brought down by Mbock Bathy, and then fired her penalty low to the keeper’s right. But that triggered PSG to attack with vigour for the first time in the entire match and they were soon level through Elimbi Gilbert, puncturing the City balloon.