Manchester City are on the verge of being eliminated from the easiest ever Champions League group stage. Their defeat against Paris Saint-Germain was one of their worst to date.
If the fact that the Champions League table is still relatively difficult to get into doesn’t emphasize the story enough, here’s what’s listed below The world’s biggest spenders in the January 2025 transfer window Like Joao Neves’ diving header at the back post to force the tie back: both PSG and Manchester City are unhappy with their fate and are in a unique position to do something about it action.
The situation is different. PSG recognized an opportunity to achieve a long-term goal and took it; ineligible Hviča Kvaratskhelia watched the victory from the stands but was given a breather in the knockout stages hope The most expensive signing this month.
He will do well to overcome competition for places, as the version of PSG’s attack on display at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night is another matter. City have spent nearly £250m on their starting goalkeeper and defence, and may feel cheated if they charge just a tenth of that.
Ederson is a reflection of his former self and the decision to keep him this summer looks like Latest transfer error in painfully long queues. His distribution is terrible and his ability to stop shots is non-existent.
Matheus Nunez is not a right-back, but he is not fundamentally a player with the qualities required for Manchester City, regardless of position.
Manuel Akanji would have been furious had he not slowed down, laboriously jogged and mercifully offside for Paris Saint-Germain’s opener.
Josko Gvardiol cleared one, but also inexplicably scored the fourth goal.
Ruben Dias escaped with a pass this time and the game suddenly became ridiculous when he was substituted after a goalless first half.
Even the defensive substitutes added fuel to the fire, with John Stones’ first move being to miss a header so Neves could convert a free-kick that Rico Lewis had conceded. .
That’s why more than £60m has been spent on the defender as the first part of a long-term rebuild. But Abdukodir Khusanov, 20, faces unimaginable pressure, having not even played a full season in a top professional football league outside Belarus and more than a dozen Year-old Vitor Reis settled down after leaving Brazil for the first time.
The bar is low, but there’s a good chance they’ll be dragged in and consumed by this mess rather than help clean it up.
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There were positives for City too: Jack Grealish’s first non-penalty goal since December 2023; another notch in Erling Haaland’s bedpost; that’s it. It was a must-win game as they led 2-0 and lost 2-4, the ninth game this season they had led before drawing or losing. It was probably only their third-worst defeat in the Champions League alone, which is really bad considering how disastrous the situation was.
Kevin De Bruyne spent much of the 70 minutes advising Nunez on his positioning, and it was telling that the Belgian made early substitutions with the crucial game tied. Got this. Savinho was a rare silver lining in the recent dark clouds as he was substituted at half-time after repeatedly losing possession. Nunez was embarrassed in the first goal, while Mateo Kovacic was blamed for the second, while Bernardo Silva endured being beaten by Ousmane Dembélé A disgrace smashed with nutmeg until the French nearly shattered the crossbar.
PSG were unstoppable for much of the second half, building a two-goal lead three minutes into the seven-game span and never let up at any point thereafter. Ederson started long but quickly came back. City began to crumble under the relentless attack as if Luis Enrique had picked Jamie Vardy as coach specifically for this game.
None of PSG’s last 22 paid players are older than 27, and the vast majority are much younger. Lee Kang-in (23), Bradley Bakla (22) and Desire Douai (19) tore City to shreds, with Goncalo Ramos (23) delivering the finishing touch , Joao Neves (20 years old) serves as the midfielder.
It gives us a glimpse of what City know they need to do. Guardiola previously said: “I don’t know now, I don’t know in the summer, and I don’t know next season, but in the next two to three transfer windows, the club must solve the age issue.” Kusanov and Ray Si added to his squad, belatedly recognizing the risk of a core of players containing “ten or 11 players over the age of 30”.
Omar Marmouche (25) will tick another box after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt, but as long as the midfield remains unchanged, anything City try to do is built on quicksand. Kovacic wasn’t good enough on the ball, Silva was caught in the flames, and Ilkay Gundogan was predictably unknown in his cameo. Rodri deserves to be knighted for holding it all together, and Calvin Phillips can quite rightly ask why he was given relief from the truly terrible Nunez when assessing Manchester City’s worst signing So much pressure.
It has been suggested Douglas Luiz could return to the Etihad in a deal that appears designed to anger Aston Villa But City only need so much and their record with midfield signings is abysmal.
The Premier League title is gone and even qualification for the Champions League group stages, a format designed to make it easier for elite teams to advance, is out of their control.
Perhaps beating Leicester, Ipswich, Salford and Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham by 20 goals doesn’t mean City are back; whenever they face They collapse against any competent opponent, which certainly shows that’s not the case.
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