Pep Guardiola said that Manchester City’s elimination from the Champions League is now a “reality.” Following their 4-2 loss to Paris-Saint Germain away. City fell to 25th in the standings, dropping out of the knockout stages under the new structure. After squandering a two-goal lead at the Parc des Princes. Goals by Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland propelled Guardiola’s squad to 18th position, but it was short-lived.
PSG scored three times in 22 minutes in a 4-2 victory, leaving City two points behind 24th-placed Stuttgart heading into their “last chance” match against Club Brugge on January 29. Despite the disappointment, a win over Club Brugge next week will propel the Blues into the play-off round. In the pouring rain of Paris, City and PSG faced off on a night of Champions League destiny.
Nothing would be decided for definite, but a win would make next week’s final match more comfortable for one of these sides, but a tie would indicate that winning the last league stage game was critical. Manchester City are struggling. Brentford should have beaten them. They did score six and eight goals against Ipswich and Salford, respectively, but Leicester also squandered some decent chances against them.
Guardiola’s Tactics Outdated
It’s a major concern for them. This team is evolving, which is difficult since we are dealing with world-class players, but some of them are nearing the end of their careers. The legs of the team have vanished. When PSG showcased strong intensity, as Brentford did, they cut through them like a scalpel through butter. This Champions League setup is designed for top teams to advance.
Even if they have a horrible day at work, they will still advance to the knockout stages in the play-off round. Guardiola said, knowing only a victory would be enough for City to sneak into the play-offs. The Spaniard said, “We have the last chance at home to Brugge and hopefully we can qualify. It could happen, if we don’t win we don’t deserve it. It’s always a difficult tie, this is the reality.”
