Paris Saint-Germain completed a stunning comeback with a 4-2 win over Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s side now knocked out of the Champions League knockout stages.

City find themselves two points behind 24th-placed Stuttgart, with their European future hanging in the balance ahead of their final league game against Club Brugge on January 29.

Second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland looked to put Pep Guardiola’s side in the driver’s seat, but their defensive deficiencies were once again exploited and they collapsed at the Parc des Princes.

After 11 minutes of intense competition, Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Bakola scored four goals to bring the home team level, before Joao Neves completed the counterattack and led the way with a cross at the back post. The team took the lead at the end of the game.

Goncalo Ramos’ fourth goal in stoppage time only added insult to injury.

Now an almost unrecognizable Manchester City side have dropped 21 points from winning positions and have a mountain to climb to reach the play-off stages. Victory over their upcoming Belgian opponents is non-negotiable.

Guardiola: The best team wins

Manchester City boss Guardiola say TNT Sports:

“They had some great moments in the first half. We had one or two, but they were better.

“We scored in five minutes, and then they scored in five minutes. In that moment, they believed it. They were better. Faster and faster.”

“The best team wins and we have one last chance at home against Club Brugge. It can happen. If we don’t win, we don’t deserve it. That’s the reality, we didn’t get enough points and we have to accept it. it.”

Grealish: We lost too many leads

Manchester City forward Jack Grealish say TNT Sports:

“Usually in these moments we perform well. It’s happened too many times this season – being one, two or three goals ahead and not being able to see the end result. In every other season we’ve been Managed the game well.”

“I don’t know if it’s a confidence issue. It’s up to us to change that and win next week’s game (against Brugge).”

“We’ve had games like this in the last season. High-pressure games and we need games like this. It’s up to us and we perform well at home.”

When the lights are brightest, cities cringe

Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:

After watching the first half, the result didn’t shock me. But the way it arrived worries City.

Defeats to Juventus, Sporting Lisbon and now PSG, as well as squandering a three-goal lead against Feyenoord, were more than just poor results. When the lights of Europe’s elite are at their brightest, they are in complete capitulation.

In the same week that the young duo of Vitor Reis and Abdelkodil Kusanov arrived at the Etihad Stadium for a combined fee of over £60m, City received the clearest signal yet that they needed to Press the reset button.

They are not the team we have been used to watching over the years and if they do fail to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League it is because they do not deserve to be there, as Guardiola rightly pointed out.

Manchester City’s curse is spreading

Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:

It is worth noting that Ederson lost the ball 14 times and his passing accuracy was only 63.16%.

Both metrics were his worst performances in a game in two and a half years.

His poor decision-making in the second half really didn’t help matters. Even he has been struck by the City curse – just not to the same extent as in previous years.

When will the 2024/25 Champions League knockout rounds be held?

• Knockout play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
• Top 16: March 4-5 and March 11-12, 2025
• Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
• Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
• Finals: May 31, 2025

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