PSG run riot at Etihad as Doué, Dembélé and Vitinha put Manchester City to the sword
A devastating first half
Paris Saint-Germain produced one of the most dominant opening periods seen at the Etihad Stadium in years, racing into a 3-0 lead inside 32 minutes before holding on for a 4-2 win over Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola returned to his former stomping ground for the first time since leaving the club at the end of last season, and the reigning European champions gave him a chastening evening. Doué opened the scoring after Fabián Ruiz released him on the counter-attack, and the France winger drilled a low finish into the bottom-left corner. Doué and Ousmane Dembélé combined again 99 seconds later, with Dembélé heading home from point-blank range.
Vitinha made it three in the 32nd minute, slamming a first-time effort from the edge of the box after a slick move involving Maghnes Akliouche and Warren Zaïre-Emery. The Guardian described the visitors' opening as a "31-minute exhibition" in the making, with Hakimi also going close twice before the break.
City fight back after Maresca's half-time changes
Enzo Maresca made three changes at the interval, bringing on Matheus Nunes, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye, and City were far better after the restart. Ndiaye's whipped cross from the left was turned into the far corner by Haaland in the 53rd minute, and the striker went close several more times.
Haaland then hit the top of the bar with a towering header, and Semenyo struck the crossbar, though his effort came from an offside position. Bouaddi's cutback set up Haaland again 57 seconds after his first goal, but the comeback was not complete.
The turning point came when Donnarumma got a hand to a shot from Akliouche, only to see the ball spin up and loop into the net. The former PSG goalkeeper was unable to scramble it clear, and the Guardian noted that it dented City's hopes. Haaland had a chance for a hat-trick in the 83rd minute but directed a shot at Safonov, and Ferran Torres then missed a late penalty after a foul by Nunes on Nuno Mendes.
Haaland makes history, but PSG too strong
Haaland's first goal saw him surpass Sergio Agüero as City's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League. His second took him to 61 goals in 60 appearances in the competition, 38 of them for City. He has now scored five in four matches against PSG.
City trailed by three at half-time at home for the first time since January 2012, and conceded three goals in the first half of a home game for the first time since November 2015 against Liverpool. They also conceded four or more goals at home in a European competition for the first time.
City finished with 27 shots worth a combined 2.57 expected goals, with 1.78 of that xG coming after the break. Haaland had eight attempts, Semenyo six and Ndiaye four. For PSG, it was their 10th goal of the Champions League season, with no side scoring more in the first two matches of a campaign in the competition's history.
Dembélé became only the third PSG player to score in six or more consecutive Champions League appearances, after Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani. PSG are now unbeaten in 10 Champions League matches against English opponents (W8 D2).
Guardiola's return was overshadowed by the football, with the City support booing the Uefa anthem as usual. For Maresca, the second-half response offered some encouragement, but Luis Enrique's side were too good in the first half and too clinical overall.