Manchester City were beaten 4-2 by PSG at the Etihad Stadium last night, but the scoreline tells only half the story. Luis Enrique's side produced a first-half display that will live long in the memory, racing to a 3-0 lead inside 32 minutes with football that can only be described as scintillating.
At half-time, it looked like City might be torn apart. PSG, the back-to-back Champions League winners, played arguably the best football seen from a visiting team at the Etihad in years. The Blues were chasing shadows.
Maresca's changes spark a response
Enzo Maresca made three substitutions at the break, and his team responded. Erling Haaland pulled one back in the 53rd minute, and City pushed forward with purpose. Any hopes of a comeback were dealt a bizarre blow on 61 minutes when Gianluigi Donnarumma contrived to save a Maghnes Akliouche shot into his own net, restoring PSG's three-goal cushion.
Haaland struck again on 75 minutes to make it 4-2, and City continued to fight, pushing PSG back until the final whistle. On another night, they might have taken a point or more.
Maresca was quick to praise his side's character. "We struggled but then in the second half we made changes, adjusted something and we were much better," he told mancity.com. "We are there; my feeling is we are close."
The City manager also revealed that Luis Enrique admitted his side had been "quite lucky" to leave with all three points. "We lost, [but] we can learn from that and move on," Maresca added.
A learning curve for a new-look City
It's easy to forget that this is a new-look City side, still learning to play together under a manager who arrived just three months ago. The first half was a painful lesson, but the second showed tremendous courage and character.
Maresca believes the experience will stand his team in good stead. "From tonight's game, we can learn many things," he said. "Even if we concede two goals against the best team in Europe, we need to do the right things."
There are concerns, not least how PSG tore through City in the opening period. But come the final whistle, there was far more good than bad to take from the match. The lessons learned should set them up for the road ahead.