PSG beat Manchester City 4-2 at Etihad as Guardiola returns amid guilty verdict
Paris St-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad in a Champions League match on 14 October 2026, a fixture that also marked Pep Guardiola's return to the stadium amid the fallout from a guilty verdict over Premier League financial regulations. PSG held a 3-0 half-time lead before City mounted a second-half fightback that narrowed the gap but left the holders victorious.
Guardiola sat a row behind chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano in the directors' box, appearing in a flat cap in a public show of support for the club's leadership. The stand bearing his name was emblazoned with a 'CTID' - City 'Til I Die - mosaic and the pre-match build-up included fireworks and pyrotechnics. The match was City's first home game since the commission found the club guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations, and came after a 3-0 win at Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Luis Enrique's PSG produced a ruthless first half, with Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha finding the net as City were ripped apart; the half-time scoreline of 3-0 actually did them a kindness. A game that began amid a wall of sound at kick-off was reduced to stunned silence inside the opening 15 minutes as PSG dominated possession and chances.
Enzo Maresca made three half-time changes and City created a host of opportunities after the break, Erling Haaland among the scorers as they rallied before ultimately losing 4-2. The second-half revival prevented embarrassment, allowed the home crowd to build a frenzied atmosphere and provided a rousing send-off for the team at the final whistle.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had a very poor night against his former club, saved from Maghnes Akliouche only to see the ball drop behind him into the net. When Josko Gvardiol had a header cleared off the line Guardiola clutched his face in anguish; when Haaland scored he remained seated but pumped his fists into the air.
Maresca said: "I really like playing against PSG because they are brave," and added: "We know the way they want to press. They go man-to-man and they are very dynamic on the ball. They are the best team in Europe. They play fantastic football. "But I think we are there. The reason why we struggled was because we conceded two early goals so quickly. When you are on the pitch you might think this is difficult, but in the second half we created enough to maybe deserve something. "We feel sorry for the first half but I think we're quite happy now." Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, watching for Match of the Day, described it as "great entertainment", but "not a normal game of football" and said: "I don't feel like both teams were going at it at the same time. In the first half, PSG were excellent and City looked really off the pace. As a consequence they were heavily punished and the game basically left them. "But then in the second half they have made some changes, they have rallied, knowing they are playing in front of their own crowd and their performance had to be better. So, it was more aggressive and more on the front foot, and that's why we saw those crazy scenes where it was shot after shot by City. "If these two teams had played this game in matchweek six or seven, it would not have looked like this. There would have been more defensive solidity from both sides and they would probably have approached the game in a different manner. "But at this stage, as we have kind of seen with some of the other games tonight, it is just goals, goals and more goals."
Either way, the superb Enrique remains the scourge of the Premier League, adding another win against City to a Champions League victims list that includes Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, in a semi-final then last season's final. For Maresca and City, it is back to domestic business at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday – and all the uncertainty that brings with the Premier League in a state of limbo as they await sanctions and the result of their appeal.
