Manchester City v PSG: Brilliant PSG before City’s response

By the PSG News newsroom · Published on 2026-10-14 · Updated on 2026-10-16 · psg · manchester city · champions league · hakimi · safonov · haaland

Dominant in the first half at the Etihad in the Champions League, PSG then faced a Manchester City fightback. The Parisians were pegged back by a header from the Norwegian striker after the break.

A one-sided first half

PSG’s trip to Manchester City in the Champions League initially looked like a Parisian masterclass. According to the live commentary from 20 Minutes, the capital club dominated the opening 45 minutes. The outlet describes a true “lesson” handed to the Citizens.

PSG’s high press paid off. After winning the ball in the opposition half, Achraf Hakimi found Akliouche on the flank. His cross was slightly deflected by Warren into the path of the Portuguese player, who curled his shot from the edge of the box into the net. The sources consulted do not specify the identity of this Portuguese goalscorer.

Hakimi was especially lively down his flank, repeatedly surging forward and unsettling the Manchester defence. He tried his luck from distance himself, but his shot, too tame, didn’t trouble the goalkeeper. On the English side, the Belgian did cut in from the left, but with no more success: his attempt was gathered by Matvey Safonov.

City change everything at half-time

The script changed after the interval. Enzo Maresca altered his tactical setup and made three changes at once: Bouaddi, Matheus Nunes and Ndiaye came on for Cherki, Doku and Ruben Dias.

These tweaks troubled the Parisians, who struggled to adjust. City pressed from the off: an Argentine player, unmarked at the far post, missed the target from a cross. Later, Haaland chose to lay the ball off instead of shooting, but Semenyo fired straight at the goalkeeper.

Safonov then produced a decisive save, but moments later Ndiaye delivered a pinpoint cross onto the Norwegian’s head, beating the Paris keeper. Semenyo even hit the bar soon after, before being flagged offside. 20 Minutes felt at that point that PSG had to regain control of the ball.

A score to be confirmed

The available snippets from the live blog do not explicitly mention the score at the moment the deficit was reduced, nor the final result. They also do not allow us to establish with certainty the exact order of all the second-half incidents. What is clear is that the match showed two faces: a first half controlled by Paris, then a clear response from the Mancunians after Maresca’s changes.