Manchester City are on the brink of Champions League elimination after spectacular collapse against PSG

CNN
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Manchester City’s turbulent season was dealt another major blow on Wednesday after they suffered a disastrous 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League group phase.

The loss means the reigning English Premier League champions are now on the brink of elimination from the tournament and need a win in their final group game against Club Brugge to have any chance of progression.

But the defeat also speaks to bigger problems at the club, with the rainy night in Paris revealing all its weaknesses this season.

City has been a winning machine in recent seasons. Under Pep Guardiola, arguably the best manager in the history of football, the team has seemed invincible at times, but is now a shadow of its former self.

It should have been a comfortable night against PSG after going two goals up through Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish in the second half. But as has been an unwanted trend this season, City threw away their advantage with PSG scoring four goals to reverse the result.

“They (PSG) were better and we have to accept that,” Guardiola told reporters after the match. “We have the last chance at home against Bruges and we will do everything there. If not, it’s because we don’t deserve it.”

Despite moving on, City continued to look vulnerable to PSG’s pace – with Bradley Barcola proving particularly difficult to deal with.

The 22-year-old showed his electric pace when he set up Ousmane Dembélé for PSG’s first goal in the 56th minute, then scored himself four minutes later to equalise.

João Neves then headed in at the back post to give the hosts the lead in the 78th minute, before Gonçalo Ramos completed the rout in stoppage time.

“We had our moments and they had their moments, but they were better,” Guardiola told TNT Sports.

“They were faster, faster, they won the duels, we couldn’t handle it. They were fast. The best team won. The game was never the way we wanted.”

City are now 25th in the Champions League table, just outside the playoff qualification places, having picked up just eight points from their seven group games so far.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Bayern Munich suffered a shock 3-0 defeat at Dutch club Feyenoord as their bid to automatically qualify for the knockout stages took a hit.

The top eight clubs advance directly to the next round, with Bayern now in 15th place, one point behind them in the automatic places.

Two goals from Santiago Giménez and one from Ayase Ueda secured the famous victory for Feyenoord, who now leapfrog Bayern, who are 11th in the table.

Six-time European champions Bayern face Slovan Bratislava in the final round of matches and need some luck from other matches to qualify for the top 8.

The clubs finishing in the playoff places – between ninth and 24th – will play another two-legged match to determine whether they reach the knockout stages.

It is a similar story for Spanish giants Real Madrid, who beat Red Bull Salzburg 5-1 on Wednesday.

braces from Rodrygo and Vinícius Jr, plus a goal from Kylian Mbappé, moved the 15-time champions up to 16th in the table as it regains some form in a competition it has dominated for the past decade.