Three goals down inside 35 minutes, outplayed on his own pitch and watched by the manager who had owned the Etihad for a decade, Enzo Maresca was still unwilling to accept that Paris Saint-Germain are operating in a different weight class.
“I think we are there, my feeling is we are close,” the Italian told reporters after Wednesday night’s 4-2 defeat to the holders.
It was a bold reading of a match in which Désiré Doué (13′), Ousmane Dembélé (15′) and Vitinha (32′) had put PSG three up before the half-hour mark, before Maghnes Akliouche added a fourth in the 62nd minute after a clearance error from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Erling Haaland’s second-half brace, triggered by three Maresca half-time substitutions, briefly threatened a comeback that never came. The Norwegian’s two goals took him past Sergio Agüero as Manchester City’s leading Champions League scorer, with 38 in 41, but a Donnarumma save from Ferran Torres’ late penalty kept the margin at two.
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Guardiola watches from the stand
The subplot was the man in the stand. Pep Guardiola had attended an Etihad fixture for the first time since stepping down in the summer, and Maresca had been bullish before kick-off about his predecessor’s return.
“It is still his house for what he has done here,” Maresca said on the eve of the game.
By full time, the Catalan had sat through a performance that laid out exactly what Maresca inherited when he replaced Guardiola on a three-year deal in June: an eight-match winning run across competitions, broken by the only side in Europe operating at a higher ceiling.
The protégé problem
Maresca is a certified product of the Guardiola school. He worked on the Catalan’s coaching staff at the Etihad, coached City’s development squad, and arrived back in Manchester with a Conference League and a Club World Cup already on his Chelsea CV.
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The question dogging him is whether he is applying the Guardiola template or reproducing it. His Manchester City build from deep, invert full-backs into midfield and press man-to-man high up the pitch. These are recognisable principles, applied with a sharper, more aggressive counter-press than in the final years of Guardiola’s reign.
Wednesday was the first proof that principles do not travel at PSG speed. Luis Enrique’s side were ruthless with every half-chance, and still had to ride a late onslaught in which Manchester City finished with 27 attempts on goal and hit the woodwork twice.
“In the second half we did enough to deserve something more,” Maresca said.
“Luis told me at the end they have been quite lucky.”
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PSG’s European moat
The gap Maresca is reaching for is a real one. Paris Saint-Germain beat Inter 5-0 in Munich in May 2025 and then edged Arsenal on penalties in Budapest in May 2026, joining Real Madrid as the only side to successfully defend the title since the competition was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992.
Maresca was clear-eyed about who his opponents are.
“I think in the last two years they have been the best team in Europe, they won almost all the games in this competition in the last two years,” he said.
Manchester City host AEK Athens at the Etihad on 20 October in their next Champions League league-phase fixture.
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