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Manchester City came into the PSG clash on Tuesday night full of confidence following a 1-0 win over Chelsea. However, Pep Guardiola's side could not repeat the same in France and lost 2-0.
Idrissa Gueye and Lionel Messi scored in either half to help the Ligue1 side pick up a comfortable win. The Cityzens could not control the tempo of the game, and PSG kept nullifying their attack.
However, Pep Guardiola was happy with his players and claimed he was satisfied with the way they played. In the post-match interview, he said:
"We dealt with PSG first of all, but we know it's impossible to control Leo for 90 minutes. What we have done is minimize, as much as possible, these kind of options and create the chances that we could create and I'm satisfied with the way we played. People can't deny that we were there. We arrived here, we did our game, but it's always a risk when you lose the ball and they can make one pass, especially with (Marco) Verratti, an exceptional, extraordinary player, and make contact with Neymar and Messi and they can run, it's difficult."
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Here are the top 5 Manchester City players from their 2-0 defeat at PSG:
#5 - Bernardo Silva
After a stunning performance against Chelsea, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City fans were looking forward to more of the same from Bernardo Silva. However, the Portuguese could not bring out his best and was just a shadow of himself.
Silva missed two golden chances to level the game, even missing a tap-in from two yards out. Raheem Sterling's header came off the crossbar, and Gianluigi Donnarumma got his fingertips to the rebound. That proved crucial as the ball spun a little, making it difficult for the Portuguese star, and his shot came off the crossbar too.
Apart from that, Bernardo Silva did not have a lot of chances to get into the PSG box but did help in the link-up play with Riyad Mahrez and Kevin de Bruyne.
#4 - Rodri
Rodri had the most arduous task of the day despite Manchester City defenders coming up against Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. The Spaniard had to ensure there was no fluidity between the PSG midfield and attack, but he received little to no help from his teammates.
The Manchester City star made six vital tackles in the game and was the one making things difficult for PSG in their attack. Rodri made crucial interceptions and lunged into tackles.
#3 - Riyad Mahrez
Statistically, there was no better player on the pitch for Manchester City against PSG. Riyad Mahrez made four tackles, completed two dribbles, took six shots, and had a pass success rate of 92%.
However, the Algerian could not test Gianluigi Donnarumma with his shots as they were either over the bar or straight at the Italian goalkeeper. Nuno Mendes was giving the Manchester City star a tough time throughout the game as the left-back marked Riyad Mahrez well and tried to bring him on his right foot on most occasions.
Pep Guardiola will be looking for more of the same from Riyad Mahrez in the reverse fixture, but the former Leicester City star needs to work on the end product. He got into good positions during the game and was the only Manchester City star who could make some space after cutting in.
#2 - Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling had a point to prove on Tuesday night but could not get the best out of himself. The Englishman was playing as a false 9 with Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez on either flanks.
With Jack Grealish deployed on the left wing by Pep Guardiola in most games, Raheem Sterling knew he had to do something special to get himself back in his favorite position.
However, he could not do much tonight as Kimpembe and Marquinhos marked him out. He did have one shot come off the crossbar, and that was easily Manchester City's best chance of the game.
#1 - Kevin de Bruyne
It will forever remain a question of whether Kevin de Bruyne deserved to stay on the pitch for Manchester City until the end of the game. The Belgian made a crunching tackle in the first half, and it was a surprise to see the referee give him only a yellow card.
Barring that one moment, Kevin de Bruyne had a very good game and was the one trying to get Manchester City back into it. The former Chelsea man was always ready to receive the ball and send in crosses for Sterling and Mahrez, but had most of them blocked by PSG.
Kevin de Bruyne ended the game with just 84% pass success. But that is primarily down to him trying to be adventurous in passing as he was desperate to get the ball into good positions near the PSG box.
