PSG Beat Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad After Leading 3-0 Inside 32 Minutes
Paris Saint-Germain scored three goals inside the first 32 minutes at the Etihad Stadium and held on to beat Manchester City 4-2, inflicting a heavy defeat on the Premier League leaders in front of a record European home crowd of 60,021.
Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha put the two-time defending champions 3-0 up before half-time. Erling Haaland scored twice in the second half but Maghnes Akliouche had already restored the three-goal cushion in between.
Three Goals in Nineteen Minutes
City pressed from the opening whistle and were punished for it. Doue finished a passing move in the 13th minute, and two minutes later Dembele headed in after combining with Doue again. The visitors had scored twice before City had settled.
Achraf Hakimi struck the post around the half-hour mark, and moments later Vitinha made it three, converting after a backheel from Warren Zaire-Emery. By the interval the result was effectively decided, and Vitinha was later named player of the match.
Haaland headed in on 53 minutes to give City something to build on, his 37th European goal for the club, a tally that takes him past Sergio Aguero's mark in the Champions League proper. Akliouche answered nine minutes later to make it 4-1.
City's Late Push Falls Short
Haaland scored again in the 75th minute and City finished the match pushing for more. Nuno Mendes cleared off the line, Josko Gvardiol had a header cleared off the line earlier in the game, and both Haaland and Enzo Fernandez struck the woodwork.
The clearest chance came late, when PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov denied Haaland a hat-trick on 83 minutes. At the other end, Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a penalty from Ferran Torres, the former City forward who had come on for Dembele.
Enzo Maresca was left reflecting on a performance that produced plenty without the finishing to match. "We created enough to deserve something more," the City manager said, adding that "you have to be clinical but not lose the balance."
Marc Guehi praised the support at a ground that set a European attendance record for the club. "The support was amazing," the defender said, noting that the crowd "stuck by us the whole game."
It was PSG's first win at the City of Manchester Stadium, and followed their 6-1 home victory over Slovan Bratislava on the opening matchday. They now sit top of the 36-team league phase table, with City 17th after two games.
Real Madrid Score Three Late Goals at Roma
The night's other outstanding match was in Rome, where Real Madrid trailed 3-1 after 57 minutes and won 4-3. Donyell Malen scored twice for Roma and Marten de Roon added another, but Kylian Mbappe, Carlos Espi, Endrick and Antonio Rudiger struck for the visitors, with Endrick and Rudiger decisive in the closing stages.
Aston Villa produced the heaviest win of the matchday, beating Fenerbahce 6-0 at Villa Park. Nicolas Jackson and Ross Barkley scored twice each, Barkley's second from the penalty spot, with Johan Manzambi and Tammy Abraham completing the scoring. Villa led 3-0 at half-time and were untroubled throughout.
Dortmund and Bayern Both Come Unstuck in Norway
Borussia Dortmund were beaten 1-0 at Bodo/Glimt, Fredrik Sjovold scoring on 52 minutes and goalkeeper Nikita Haikin keeping a clean sheet for a home side who had lost 5-0 to Bayern Munich in their opening fixture.
Norway featured in the previous night's results too, Viking holding Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw. The other major upset on Tuesday came at San Siro, where Internazionale lost 4-3 at home to Club Brugge.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Liverpool won 6-3 at LASK with Bradley Barcola scoring his first goals for the club in a hat-trick, Real Betis came from behind to beat Porto 3-2, Stuttgart won 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava, Feyenoord beat Como 3-2 and Shakhtar Donetsk saw off AEK Athens 3-1 in their home fixture, played at Stamford Bridge.
