Manchester City cracked. The Citizens, however, struck first, scoring two goals in three minutes, before sinking in the face of Parisian superiority (4-2). Despite the legitimate disappointment, Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva recognized this domination of Luis Enrique’s men, who notably took the upper hand in midfield. “They won the battle all over the field,” the Portuguese even said on Canal+. They were more intense, more competitive, more aggressive. They deserved to win this match. »
The first half, however, was relatively timid. In possession of the ball, the Parisians did not create countless chances, but nevertheless believed they could open the scoring, before Achraf Hakimi’s goal was canceled for an offside by Nuno Mendes. “The first half was 50-50,” assured Bernardo Silva. We didn’t play well but we had opportunities to create chances. We had a good start to the second half. But for 35 minutes, the Parisians were much better than us. »
The Citizens have indeed taken on water. Pep Guardiola could only observe the damage and recognize the superiority of his opponent. “Paris was just better. Stronger in intensity, in duels. There were one or two clear opportunities but when they had the ball, they dominated, regretted the Spanish technician, who congratulated his compatriot and counterpart. When they started playing… They had an extra player in the middle and we had difficulty controlling this situation. They deserve their victory. They were better. »
-“They were too quick for us in transition”
The position of Kang-in Lee, in false nine and additional in midfield, visibly greatly hampered the teammates of Kevin de Bruyne, who was very discreet this Wednesday evening. “They were superior in the middle with one or two players and I expected to control this situation but the connection with Bernardo Silva was not feasible,” he regretted. By the time we understood and realized it, they were too quick for us in transition. We have a great team but we can’t do it. » One figure demonstrates all the difficulties encountered by the Citizens: they only had 37% possession this Wednesday evening. This is Guardiola’s second lowest rate in the Champions League. His worst ratio came in 2016 against FC Barcelona coached by… Luis Enrique.
The rest of his press conference was nothing but praise for Paris Saint-Germain and its team. “I told my players that PSG was better and that we had to accept it. They were so aggressive, they brought so much intensity. They were very intelligent in attack. They all had a very high level. PSG is truly an exceptional team. For several years. When the team is better than us, I have no trouble accepting it. We gave everything. »
