Paris Saint-Germain sent a powerful statement to their Champions League rivals after returning from the Etihad Stadium with a resounding 4-2 victory over Manchester City, maintaining the holders’ perfect start to the league phase.
The French side entered the blockbuster clash on the back of a 6-1 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava in their opener, but required a far more mature display against the Premier League leaders, successfully imposing their rhythm from the opening minutes despite playing away from home.
Désiré Doué translated PSG’s superiority into an opening goal in the 13th minute following a pass from Fabián Ruiz, before setting up Ousmane Dembélé for the second just two minutes later. Vitinha then added a third in the 32nd minute, sending Luis Enrique’s side into the break with a commanding 3-0 lead.
Enzo Maresca attempted to rescue Manchester City by making a triple substitution at half-time, introducing Iliman Ndiaye, Matheus Nunes, and Ayyoub Bouaddi. These changes increased the tempo of the game and gave the hosts greater penetration into the PSG penalty box.
Erling Haaland pulled one back in the 53rd minute, but Maghnes Akliouche capitalized on City’s high line to restore the three-goal cushion with a fourth in the 62nd minute. Haaland added his second of the night in the 75th minute, though the English side were unable to mount a further comeback.
The encounter carried an added storyline for Gianluigi Donnarumma, who lined up in goal for Manchester City against his former club. Meanwhile, PSG proved their attacking firepower is not reliant on a single individual, as the four goals came via Doué, Dembélé, Vitinha, and Akliouche, alongside influential playmaking performances from Fabián Ruiz and Warren Zaïre-Emery.
PSG repeated their 4-2 victory over City from January 2025—when they fought back from two goals down—though this time they established their dominance right from the start. The result moves them to 6 points at the top of the table, having scored 10 goals while conceding three, whereas City remain on three points after opening their campaign with a 2-0 win over Porto.
In Wednesday’s other fixtures, Aston Villa crushed Fenerbahçe 6-0, Liverpool won a thrilling 6-3 encounter against LASK Linz, Real Madrid edged Roma 4-3, Real Betis beat Porto 3-2, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated AEK Athens 3-1, Stuttgart beat Slovan Bratislava 3-0, Feyenoord won 3-2 against Como, while Bodø/Glimt surprised visiting Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 victory.
The matchday’s opening fixtures on Tuesday had seen Barcelona defeat Galatasaray 4-1, Arsenal beat Lille 3-0, Club Brugge edge Inter 4-3, Sporting CP defeat Lens 2-0, Atlético Madrid overcome Manchester United 2-0, Villarreal beat Napoli 3-1, Leipzig top PSV 1-0, Bayern Munich defeat Viking 4-3, and Azerbaijan’s Sabah beat Slavia Prague 2-0. PSG next host Barcelona on October 20, while Manchester City face AEK Athens.
