Liverpool were supposed to be the ones to bring the big bad oil cheats down to earth last weekend. That was how it goes in the movies: the nice guys take down the dastardly villains to restore a sense of moral order.
Well, real-life is far more ironic than the movies, as fellow oil tycoons PSG were the ones who ultimately taught City a lesson in humility, producing a world-class first half showing to pave the way to a 4-2 victory. To their credit, Enzo Maresca’s men fought back valiantly in the 2nd period and may have fashioned a way back into the match had they been a bit more clinical. Anyway, here are my Man City player ratings.
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma- 3/10
I was willing to give Donnarumma the benefit of the doubt for that Doue goal that dribbled in at the near post. But the way he palmed Akilouche’s speculative long-range effort back towards goal made me sour on that Doue effort. He did go on to save a tame penalty attempt from Ferran Torres. Still, you can’t have two errors that directly lead to goals against a PSG side of this quality.
RB: Abdukodir Khusanov- 4/10
Enzo Marseca clearly thought that that Khusanov’s recovery running would be a huge plus against PSG’s counterattacking threat (which theoretically, it should have been). The Uzbeki fullback was bamboozled by PSG’s mastery of space in the first half. He did improve when deployed at centre-half for the 2nd stanza, but the damage was done.
CB: Ruben Dias- 5/10
I don’t think that Dias did much wrong in the first half (which is a crazy thing to say when you see how that half played out). PSG’s array of attacking talent were at their dazzling best and City’s midfield didn’t do the defensive line any favours. Still, he was the leader of a defence that shipped three first-half goals.
CB: Marc Guehi- 5/10
Guehi looked visibly shaken by the chaos of the 45 mins, projecting a confusion that pretty much summed up the entire Man City performance. He looked more aggressive and secure playing alongside the Khusanov in the 2nd period.
LB: Josko Gvardiol- 6/10
This was classic Gvaridol: brilliant going forward, suspect defensively. He started the game quite solidly, making a few key interceptions when PSG were just starting to warm up. He lacked awareness when Doue beautifully floated that ball to Dembelle for PSG’s 2nd. Still, kept on driving the side forward during their epic 2nd half push, almost setting up Haaland with an inch-perfect cross.
CM: Elliot Anderson- 7/10
For the first time in his City career, Elliot Anderson was part of a side that was outclassed in the middle of the park. Anderon fought valiantly in that first 45 minutes but ultimately couldn’t affect the game as he might have wished. The introduction of Bouaddi gave City more backbone and Anderson shone, producing a powerhouse 2nd half performance to leave the field with his head held high.
CM: Enzo Fernandez- 6/10
I thought that Maresca might yank Fernandez at halftime. The Argentine looked overrun in midfield, leaving Anderson to do much of the dirty work on his own. Maresca instead reverted to what he knows best, deploying Fernandez in a more advanced role like he used to do during his Chelsea tenure. And Fernandez looked much more assured going forward, finding aggravating pockets of space. A textbook game of two halves.
AM: Ryan Cherki- 3/10
Ryan Cherki has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom since joining the Citizens, cultivating a Cantona-esque cult-status amongst the City faithful. But last night was without question his worst outing in a City jersey. He was a complete bystander to PSG’s first-half dominance and simply had to come off at the break.
LW: Jeremy Doku- 5/10
Doku probably thought he could walk on water following his iconic substitute appearance at Anfield at the weekend. He looked far less convincing against Hakimi and co, lacking a bit of conviction in the 1v1 scenarios. That being said, the Belgian still looked like their most dangerous outlet in the first half. I think his halftime substitution was more about easing him back into action after a considerable time spent on the sidelines.
RW: Antoine Semenyo- 6/10
Frustrating. Look, you can’t knock Semenyo’s effort last night. The Ghanian never stopped running, always looking to get in behind and exploit any defensive lapses. He just dawdled on the ball a few too many times, holding on to it for too long while allowing the PSG side to close ranks.
STR: Erling Haaland- 8/10
Led the line like he was leading the 300 into battle against the Persians (only it was the Parisians). Scored a fantastic header to give City a sniff just after halftime. Continued to threaten throughout and caressed a 2nd home with his right boot. Harsh critics would argue that he should have probably scored a few more with the chances he had.
Subs
Ayyoub Bouaddi on for Ryan Cherki at halftime- 8/10
Just as Doku did at Anfield; Bouaddi’s introduction completely changed the game. The 19-year-old showed composure well beyond his years, taking the ball in tight situations and elegantly transitioning the pressure onto the reigning champs. There was something about Zidane in the way he broke the lines and keep the side moving forward. His perfectly timed run and cutback teed up Haaland for City’s 2nd.
Illman Ndiaye on for Jeremy Doku at halftime- 7/10
Ndiaye was one of the catalysts for City’s face-saving 2nd half showing, providing plenty of nuisance value down that left-hand side. He put in a peach of a cross for Haaland’s opener and probably should have done better with a couple of chances. Seemed to fade a bit as the 2nd half progressed.
Matheus Nunez on for Ruben Dias at halftime- 6/10
Brought more solidity down that right-hand side when he came on at the break. Gave away a silly penalty with a reckless lunge on Nuno Mendes.
