The City of Guardiola shows the deficiencies of PSG

Manchester City showed in a few minutes what his football peak is and what is the only problem that can keep him away from it. If throughout the first half he dominated a PSG who barely knew how to control the onslaught of the premises, only the absence of a goal deprived Pep Guardiola’s men of reflecting their superiority on the scoreboard a little earlier. It had to be after the break, even tracing a fleeting goal by Mbappé, a brief visitor flash, when the citizens had their reward in the result: the goals of Sterling and Gabriel Jesus turned the clash around (2-1) and confirmed the Manchester City in the first position of its group.

With Messi, Neymar and Mbappé as the offensive trident, Mauricio Pochettino’s team could not withstand the pressure it was subjected to by City. The top three did not collaborate in defense and, at the expense of the possession of the premises, little by little the dangerous plays fell, almost all on the right wing: one by Rodri that Kimpembe took out in the small area, a shot from Mahrez cleared by Achraf, a shot by Zinchenko blocked by Marquinhos and another shot by Gündogan, this time off the post. The steamroller was real, but there were no goals.

The break served as a relief for PSG. The moment he returned, a beautiful collective move was completed by Mbappé, at the far post and after a rebound, to put the unexpected 0-1 on the scoreboard. Although City had deserved to take several goals ahead, with 40 minutes left they were behind on the scoreboard. Guardiola reacted by putting Gabriel Jesus in for Zinchenko – the absences of De Bruyne, Grealish and Foden forced the Ukrainian to play inside -, brought more men to the area, and the goals came later.

Two wonderful assists from Rodrigo, first, and Bernardo, then, precisely the two best Manchester City footballers this season, facilitated the goals of Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to turn around and place the 1-2. In this way, Manchester City secures the first position of its group and shows PSG – mathematically classified as second – the shortcomings of its plan: If there are three out of eleven players who do not defend, going far in the Champions League will not be as easy as gathering decisive names in the starting lineup.