Gabriel Jesus downs PSG as City top the group

Manchester City top the group after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1, who qualify despite defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Action: Manchester City were without the injured Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bryne but dominated PSG for the vast majority of the first half. The visitors were without Marco Verratti and Gini Wijnaldum but Sergio Ramos on the bench for the first time. 

After 19 minutes Achraf Hakimi had to head a Riyad Mahrez effort over the bar that looked destined to hit the back of the net. 

Ilkay Gundogan went the closest in the first half when his effort from just outside the box crashed against Keylor Navas’ left-hand post.

PSG – with the trio of Mbappé, Messi, and Neymar – looked most likely to create something on the counter but they didn’t really test Ederson in the first half. 

But Ederson was beaten early after the break when Messi’s low cross found Kylian Mbappé who put the ball through the Brazilian’s legs to give Pochettino’s team the lead against the run of play.

It didn’t take long for City to pull level. The goal was made by Rodri’s perfect pass out to Kyle Walker pulled the ball back that eventually found its way to Raheem Sterling who poked the ball home.

City scored what turned out to be the winning goal after 76 minutes when Mahrez’s cross from the right found Bernardo Silva, who cut the ball for Gabriel Jesus to cooly slot home.

Big Picture: Manchester City go through as group winners with a game in hand and will be happy overall with their performance at the Etihad. PSG meanwhile are also through, with RB Leipzig thrashing Club Brugge in the other game.

Man of the Match: Riyad Mahrez was Manchester City’s most productive creative outlet. His cross for Bernardo Silva in the lead up to the winner was vital.

xG: Man City (2.04) 2-1 (1.03) PSG

Stat of the Day: 

In the last seven months, Paris Saint-Germain have lost more games to Manchester City than to French clubs (3-2).

— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) November 24, 2021