Champions League: City at the brink of elimination after humiliating loss at PSG

Erling Haaland rues missed chances as PSG came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night in the Champions League. ...

Erling Haaland rues missed chances as PSG came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night in the Champions League. (Photo credit: GOAL)

Manchester City suffered a humiliating defeat away at the French capital on Wednesday night, losing 4-2 after having led 2-0 in the first half. The result means Pep Guardiola’s team is in danger of early elimination from the tournament they won in 2023.

PSG was awful in the first half, with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scoring one each to hand the Premier League what looked like a healthy first-half lead, but a huge collapse in the final half saw them concede four to Luis Henrique’s team.

"We have a last chance against Brugge, and if we don't go through, it's because we don't deserve it," Guardiola told reporters. "We have to recover against Chelsea in our next game and just move forward.

"Tonight, they [PSG] were better. Congratulate PSG and accept it. The law of football is like that—how intense and aggressive they were in key positions. You have to recover players and do it better.

"Their players suffered, and they were better. They were better in the duels, and we found our moment with 0-2 for the goal, but in the first half they had two clear chances."

It was the ninth time this season that the Cityzens will drop points from a position of advantage, and they have now lost three games away from home on the bounce in the Champions League; they stand no chance of qualifying if they don’t beat Club Brugge in the final game, but other results must go their way too.

Elsewhere on Wednesday night, Feyenoord beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to cement their place in the top 24 while pushing for a shock top 8 finish. Mathematically, the Dutch side could still qualify automatically for the round of 16, but they would need a couple of teams above them to drop points in the final game.

Arsenal has confirmed their place in the round of 16 without having to play a two-legged playoff next month after their dominant 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates on Wednesday night, with Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Martin Ødegaard all finding the back of the net.

The Gunners join perfect Liverpool and Barcelona, who were in a dramatic 5-4 victory at Benfica on Tuesday, with Inter Milan only needing a point to advance automatically. Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atalanta all need to confirm their respective places, but it lies in their hands.