It was far from the first Champions League classic Pep Guardiola has seen at the Etihad Stadium even if Manchester City ’s plight means it may prove the last.

If Guardiola’s first return to the club he managed for an increasingly controversial decade had seemed designed to provide a show of support in the wake of 114 guilty verdicts, the drama that followed suggested that it was simply a footballing choice. Guardiola witnessed something extraordinary.

There was a time when his City were Europe’s outstanding team. Now that mantle has passed to Luis Enrique ’s Paris Saint-Germain . Yet even as they delivered a masterclass, City responded with a show of spirit. It may be dangerous to draw too many parallels to events off the field , where they require a still more remarkable comeback. If nothing else, Enzo Maresca ’s players illustrated that they have not abandoned hope. Guardiola’s former assistant again showed he can change games with his substitutions.

Nevertheless, the footballing statement came from the defending champions. Theirs was an exhibition of eminence . Their first-half display may have been the best performance here in the Champions League since Guardiola’s City beat Real Madrid 4-0 in the 2023 semi-final. The broader conclusion may be that it illustrated how times have changed since then.

If City’s only route back into the Champions League is by winning it – which, given possible Premier League sanctions, could be the case – this was a reminder that PSG are the team to beat. Even as Erling Haaland led the assault on the PSG goal in the second half, City were beaten for the fourth time in eight home Champions League games.

PSG had killed them with kindness in becoming outspoken anomalies , defending City in the wake of the independent commission’s verdict. They then eviscerated them with excellence. If it was a hugely entertaining distraction from City’s off-field issues, perhaps it was telling it came at the hands of a club who have had their own brushes with Financial Fair Play before constructing this wonderful team, though it was testament to the talents of Luis Enrique and his team as well as their considerable resources.

It said something that the outstanding player in last season’s Champions League, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia , was held in reserve. They could afford to confine him to a cameo. Desire Doue starred on the left wing in his absence. He was pivotal in PSG’s devastating double, two goals in as many minutes to set them on their way. Thereafter, the action was non-stop.

It was typical of a topsy-turvy night that it ended with a penalty save from Gianluigi Donnarumma to deny Ferran Torres , with each facing his former club. PSG would not have won their maiden Champions League in 2025 without some extraordinary saves from Donnarumma in the knockout stages. But, in his first reunion with them, the Italian was arguably culpable for the opener and beaten in freakish fashion for the visitors’ fourth goal when he made a flying save from Maghnes Akliouche, only for the ball to spin in. The winger, too, showed the reigning champions have alternatives to Kvaratskhelia.