Guardiola's job at Man City never been bigger

Paris Saint-Germain’s “ultra fans” warned Pep Guardiola and Manchester City what awaited them on a stormy night in Paris, but they could not have imagined the scale of the nightmare that was to unfold. The slogan “Hit by the waves, Paris never sinks” was emblazoned on a huge banner spanning one end of the Parc des Princes, the centrepiece of a pre-match spectacle of pyrotechnics and naked hostility designed to ramp up the noise and atmosphere.

It was a brutal truth for Manchester City and Guardiola, who endured one of the most chilling and frustrating nights of his managerial career as a two-goal lead was transformed into a 4-2 defeat that flattered the Premier League champions rather than being a true reflection of Paris Saint-Germain. The manner in which City crumbled in the face of Paris Saint-Germain’s exhilarating attacks exposed all the flaws that have seen Guardiola’s side slide into a serious decline this season.

They are already trailing in their bid to retain their domestic league title, and now they need to beat Club Brugge at the Etihad to reach the Champions League play-offs, as they sit 25th in the new standings, which should be a disgrace to everyone at the club. Guardiola’s City of the past would have seen out a game with a two-goal lead, but not this team. This side has now dropped eight points from winning positions in the Champions League and 14 in the Premier League.

When City threw away a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord at home in 16 minutes in November, it was put down as an aberration, a lapse of concentration from a team cruising. But it is not, this City side is one that cannot be trusted. Further damning evidence of their current lack of character and ability to collapse was their two late goals conceded to lose the derby against Manchester United. But this was different, this was more disturbing, because Paris Saint-Germain showed a resolve to come back from 0-2 down, they simply overwhelmed City, who were just a pale shadow of the once all-conquering team. Even Guardiola had to admit: “We could not cope.”

It was a sad, incredible capitulation, with City too slow through the middle, torn apart on the flanks, and generally on the receiving end of the kind of all-round hammering that they used to dish out rather than be the victim of. In the face of the Parisian barrage, City faced 26 shots, their highest total since a Champions League game against Real Madrid in September 2012 when the Spaniards had 35. The sight of Matheus Nunes – an attacking player – at right-back, with Kyle Walker about to complete a move to AC Milan, illustrated the muddled thinking that has engulfed City and Guardiola this season, a flaw that needs addressing.

He was completely out of his depth, as was another substitute, Rico Lewis, as Paris Saint-Germain rampaged down the flanks at will, with Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, and substitute Ousmane Dembélé leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. However, this defeat was a collective failure of coach and team, because City showed signs of crumbling, and then they did, conceding four goals in a game for the first time since a 2-5 home loss to Leicester City in September 2020. Even at 2-0 up, City looked in no shape or condition to control the game. Guardiola considers possession to be nine-tenths of the law in football, but here they were guilty of a gross dereliction, with Dembélé's goal, three minutes after Haaland had made it two, a significant turning point.

Guardiola stood on the touchline, soaked, stunned, and powerless to prevent a defeat that should have been even heavier, and he may now realise that he has a bigger rebuilding job on his hands than he thought. The great Kevin De Bruyne looked every one of his 33 years, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both looked 30, and the energy of Paris Saint-Germain in and out of possession highlighted every weakness that has afflicted City this season. De Bruyne and Kovacic were both taken off, exhausted, after 70 minutes. The statistics make grim reading for Guardiola, as City’s failure to win from a leading position in all competitions this season has now reached nine games (four defeats and five draws), the most by any Premier League club in 2024/25.

City have now lost their last three Champions League away games, their second-longest losing streak, after losing four in a row between November 2011 and December 2012 under Roberto Mancini. And this was the first time they had lost a game from a two-goal lead since a 2-3 loss to Brighton in May 2021. Guardiola's rebuild of City has started with the signing of a defensive duo, Abdulkodir Khusanov, 20, from Lens, and Vito Reis, 19, from Palmeiras, while Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush is also on his way.

On the evidence of what is happening now, the rebuild should not end there, because City look vulnerable in the wide defensive areas, a problem exacerbated by the imminent departure of veteran Walker, and labored in the midfield areas, a department that is clearly in need of bolstering. Guardiola was magnanimous in defeat to his old friend and Barcelona team-mate Luis Enrique, saying: “Paris Saint-Germain were better than us. We could not pass, could not cope with the fast transitions.”

“The table is fair, we have the points, there is no debate – Paris Saint-Germain played better and didn’t win, today they did. To defend we have to play, we could not. Compliments to Paris Saint-Germain. We tried to get Ilkay Gündogan, James McAtee and Jack Grealish on the ball, but could not. Everything happens in the middle of the park where you can control the game, they could, we could not. The players for Paris Saint-Germain were conscious in attack and defence – a good collective performance.”

“We could not cope, but when a team is better, it is not a problem to accept it. We prepare now for a tough game against Chelsea (in the Premier League) on Saturday and the final against Brugge.” Brugge are 20th in the Champions League standings. City should be favourites, but with their drop in performance levels and their propensity to crumble under pressure – and this is now a high-pressure situation – it is no longer a guarantee for Guardiola’s team. The events of a stormy, emotional, rain-lashed night in Paris have plunged them into Champions League peril.

The unthinkable at the start of the season will now haunt a manager and a team who are in danger of being eliminated before the last 16.