'A Pitiful Surrender' – Guardiola Faces Biggest Challenge Yet

Paris St-Germain's "Ultras" warned Pep Guardiola and Manchester City about what they would face on a stormy night in Paris, but they could not have predicted the severity of the nightmare.

"Beaten By The Waves, Paris Never Sunk" was the statement inscribed on a gigantic flag that extended the length of one end at the Parc des Princes, the centrepiece of a stunning pre-match display of pyrotechnics and open animosity aimed to increase the noise and mood.

It revealed a terrible truth for City and Guardiola, who endured one of his rule's most terrifying, chastening nights when an unfair two-goal advantage was turned into a 4-2 defeat that favoured the Premier League champions over PSG.

How City disintegrated, crumbling in the face of PSG's exciting attacking assault, showed every weakness that has led to Guardiola's side's rapid downfall this season.

They are falling behind in their domestic championship defence, and they now need a win against Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium to qualify for the Champions League play-offs, with their current table position of 25th causing embarrassment for everyone at the club.

Guardiola's previous Manchester City would have won after going up two goals. Not in this version. Not the version that has lost eight points from Champions League winning positions and 14 in the Premier League.

When City squandered a 3-0 lead in 16 minutes to draw at home to Feyenoord in November, it was viewed as a fluke occurrence, with a cruising team losing sight of the ball.

It wasn't. Manchester City is not a team that can be trusted.

More damning proof of their current lack of character and ability to collapse came when they allowed two goals in the final two minutes to lose the Derby against Manchester United.

This was different. This was arguably more disturbing since PSG showed heart while trailing 2-0, simply outclassing City, who were a faint shadow of a once-dominant squad. Even Guardiola had to acknowledge, "We could not cope."

It was a pathetic, barely credible surrender because City was too slow in the central areas, ripped apart on the flanks, and generally given the comprehensive going over they used to give out rather than receiving.

City received 26 shots in a PSG bombardment, the most against them since the Champions League encounter against Real Madrid in September 2012, when the Spaniards had 35.

The appearance of Matheus Nunes, an attacking operator, at right-back with Kyle Walker on the verge of joining AC Milan, highlighted the type of convoluted thinking that has plagued City and Guardiola this season, a problem that must be addressed.

He was entirely at sea, as was another substitute, Rico Lewis, as PSG rampaged into the broad areas at will. Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, and substitute Ousmane Dembele left a trail of destruction in their wake.

However, this setback resulted from a combined failure of the manager and squad as City threatened to crumble and finally did, conceding four goals for the first time in a game since losing 5-2 at home to Leicester City in September 2020.

Even after going 2-0 up, City never appeared to be able to handle the game. Guardiola sees possession as nine-tenths of football's law; they were guilty of criminal neglect, with Dembele's goal three minutes after Haaland's second a game-changer.

Guardiola, who stood soaking and startled on the sidelines, powerless to avert an even more emphatic defeat, may suddenly discover he has an even bigger reconstruction job than he expected.

The great Kevin De Bruyne looked all of his 33 years, as did Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, both 30, as PSG's intensity in and out of possession exposed every flaw that has plagued City all season. After 70 minutes, De Bruyne and Kovacic were replaced since they were exhausted.

The statistics are gloomy for Guardiola, with City failing to win after taking the lead in nine games this season (four losses and five draws), the most of any Premier League club in 2024/25.

City has lost the last three Champions League games away from home, its second-longest losing streak since four in a row from November 2011 to December 2012 under Roberto Mancini.

This was also the first time they have lost a game after leading by two goals since May 2021, when they were defeated 3-2 by Brighton.

Guardiola's rejuvenation of City has begun with the additions of defensive duo Abdukodir Khusanov (20) from Lens and Vitor Reis (19) from Palmeiras, with Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush on the way.

Based on this evidence, the rebuild should not stop there because the City appeared weak in broad defensive zones, a concern compounded by the impending departure of veteran Walker and labour in central midfield, a department in desperate need of rejuvenation.

Guardiola was gracious in defeat against his old buddy and Barcelona teammate Luis Enrique, saying, "PSG were better than us." We couldn't make the passes or deal with the swift transitions.

"The table is fair; we all have points; PSG could have played better and not won, but they did today." To defend, we must play; otherwise, we cannot. Give credit to PSG.

"We attempted to keep up with Ilkay Gundogan, James McAtee, and Jack Grealish but couldn't. Everything happens in the centre, where you control the game; they can, but we can't. PSG players move with great sense, both attacking and defending - they work well together.

"We couldn't cope, but it's easy to accept when one team outperforms the others. We are now preparing for a tough game against Chelsea [in the Premier League on Saturday] and the final against Brugge."

Brugge is at 20th place in the Champions League rankings. City should be favourites, but given their poor performance and tendency to crack under duress - and this is suddenly a high-pressure situation - this is no longer a given for Guardiola's side.

Events on a crackling, passionate, rain-soaked night in Paris put them in danger of losing the Champions League.

What was unimaginable at the outset of the season will now haunt the minds of a manager and squad in danger of elimination before the round of 16.