PSG vs Manchester City: Les Parisiens seek revenge
Five months after their semi-finals clash, PSG and Manchester City will meet once again in the Champions League. Tuesday’s game will be exactly five months to the day after Les Parisiens lost 2-1 to the Cityzens at the Parc des Princes, setting in place an unfortunate sequence of events that resulted in their eventual elimination from the tournament. Angel di Maria was notably given his marching orders after lashing out in frustration during the second leg, and now the Argentinian star will not have a chance to feature here due to his ban. Indeed, that two legged series saw Pep Guardiola get the better of Mauricio Pochettino, both home, and away, so it’s safe to say that PSG will be gunning for more than just three points in this rematch.
Unfortunately for the hosts, things haven’t gone exactly as planned. While PSG are still unbeaten in Ligue 1, with a 2-0 win against Montpellier at the weekend ensuring they still enjoy a perfect record, their Champions League opener, expected to have plenty of fireworks, was nothing but a damp squid. Their much vaunted attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe failed to click or to fire as none of the three stars got onto the scoresheet, disappointing both PSG and neutral fans. In fact, Les Parisiens looked quite disjointed and unlike themselves as they ultimately had to settle for a one-all draw with Club Brugge, a team that they had easily dispatched not too long ago.
Manchester City, by contrast, have kicked off their Champions League campaign with a bang. Nine goals were scored in arguably the most entertaining match so far of this tournament, and it was the Cityzens who came out on top after beating RB Leipzig 6-3. They also got revenge on Chelsea for beating them in three competitions last season, namely the Champions League final by defeating the Blues 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. And to cap things off, City are unbeaten in their last ten away European fixtures – a stat that doesn’t bode well for PSG, who are winless in their last three at home.
In April’s meeting between PSG and Man City, Marquinhos had fired Les Parisiens into an early lead, before goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez overturned proceedings. PSG, in fact, have not beaten Manchester City in European ties, drawing once and losing three times, including in both semifinals matches last season. It’s safe to say that the pressure will be on Pochettino to try to get things right this time around, but he could be forced to do so without Messi. Despite reportedly returning to training at the weekend, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is still not a guarantee for this match as he’s recovering from a bruised bone. It will be interesting to see what – if any – role he does play and how Pochettino manages to integrate him at a time that many are already expressing concern as to whether PSG’s ambitious goal of having a Messi-Neymar-Mbappe attacking strike force will pan out or just be a pipe dream.
With RB Leipzig also in this group, the onus will be on PSG to try to get back on track after their disappointing showing against Club Brugge. Revenge will definitely be on the cards, but will Les Parisiens finally end their hoodoo against Manchester City? Or is more frustration on the cards when Guardiola and his troops show up on Tuesday evening?
