PSG punish Man City in Etihad thriller despite Haaland Champions League brace

City suffered their first defeat of the season after being outplayed in the first half by the reigning European champions, who extended their unbeaten run in the competition to 12 matches and recorded their first-ever victory away to the English side.

PSG made a flying start, scoring twice in the space of two minutes to leave City struggling to recover. Desire Doue finished a superb team move in the 13th minute before Ousmane Dembele doubled the visitors' advantage after being picked out by Doue's cross.

Manchester City struggled to contain the French side, who continued to create chances. Achraf Hakimi struck the post before Vitinha made it 3-0, finishing from the edge of the penalty area after Warren Zaïre-Emery's clever flick.

City were fortunate not to fall further behind before half-time, with Hakimi missing another opportunity and Josko Gvardiol heading wide from a corner.

Enzo Maresca responded with three substitutions at the interval, and City showed a different attitude after the restart.

Antoine Semenyo and Enzo Fernandez combined to create a promising opportunity, but Fernandez headed wide from close range. City eventually found a way back into the contest when Haaland turned home Iliman Ndiaye's cross eight minutes into the second half.

The goal was a significant moment for the Norwegian striker, who became Manchester City's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League.

However, City's hopes of completing a comeback suffered another setback when Gianluigi Donnarumma failed to deal with Maghnes Akliouche's effort. The goalkeeper palmed the ball into the air, but it dropped over the line to restore PSG's three-goal lead.

City continued to push forward and created several opportunities, with Gvardiol, Fernandez and Haaland all threatening before the Norwegian scored his second of the night.

Haaland finished Ayyoub Bouaddi's cutback to make it 4-2 and give City renewed hope, but PSG held on despite Ferran Torres missing a late penalty.

The result ended City's eight-match winning run and provided a reminder of PSG's quality on Europe's biggest stage.

Maresca admitted City had been well below their standards before half-time but praised his players' response after the break.

"We feel sorry for the first half for sure. Then second half I think we were quite happy," the City manager told TNT Sports.

"I think we started quite good until the first goal and then we conceded the second one after one minute. That created some bad feelings."

Maresca believed City had done enough after the interval to earn a better result, pointing to the chances they created as they tried to fight their way back into the match.

"Second half, we were much better and probably deserved something more. It was a bit strange, to be honest," he said.

"Even with 3-0 in the first half, with the amount of chances we created in the second half, we deserved more."

The City boss also acknowledged the importance of maintaining their defensive organisation while chasing the game.

"We adjusted a bit when we were pressing. I think we lost a bit of the balance," Maresca said.

"You have to be clinical but not lose the balance."

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