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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have finally got their win against Manchester City, and it was a brilliant performance. The Ligue 1 side dominated the game and Mauricio Pochettino's tactics worked perfectly.
Pep Guardiola's side went in with a lot of confidence after their dominant win over Chelsea over the weekend. The Cityzens were the favorites on the night as they won their first game of the Champions League season while PSG were held to a 1-1 draw by Club Brugge on the opening day.
However, Mauricio Pochettino had other plans, and his setup to draw Manchester City in and counter at every chance worked well. PSG registered a comfortable 2-0 win thanks to goals from Idrissa Gueye and Lionel Messi.
Here are PSG's 5 best players against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League:
#5 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi finally got his first goal for PSG, and it was a beauty. The Argentine started as a right-winger but drifted in and finished the game as a centre-forward.
PSG fans had to wait a while to see Lionel Messi score his first goal and his appearance against Manchester City itself was in doubt. The former Barcelona star was injured and missed the last two games, but made his comeback to help his new side beat Manchester City.
The goal was his 121st in the Champions League and his 27th against English Premier League sides in 35 appearances! There were finally some good signs of link-up play between Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi as well. If things go well, the Argentine could reach double figures by the end of next month.
#4 Kylian Mbappe
What a game Kylian Mbappe had against Manchester City! The Frenchman was not happy being subbed off over the weekend, and he took out his anger on the Cityzens.
Mbappe was on top of his game and gave Pep Guardiola's side a tough time every time he got on the ball. He finally seemed to link up well with Lionel Messi and Neymar today and got an assist to his name as well.
PSG had most of their attacking threats coming from Kylian Mbappe today as he played across the frontline. He started off as a centre-forward, switched with Lionel Messi and moved to the right-wing and then played on the left side of the front three towards the end of the game.
#3 Gigi Donnarumma
Gigi Donnarumma finally got his chance to shine for PSG on the big stage and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The Italian made some crucial saves in the game that helped his forwards attack with a lot more freedom.
PSG's defenders were not at their best today, with Presenel Kimpembe and Marquinhos making quite a few mistakes. The two centre-backs often offered space and time on the ball to Manchester City players as Guardiola's side took shots from all angles.
Donnarumma did not have much to do in the second half as he mostly had to push away crosses that were at the right height for him to get to. He did make one mistake in collecting the ball, but there were no players around him to tap the ball into the net.
#2 Idrissa Gueye
When Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are on the pitch, it is a huge surprise to see someone else scoring the first goal of the game. Idrissa Gueye scored his first Champions League goal against Manchester City, and it came early in the first half.
Playing in his 24th Champions League game, the former Everton man was deployed as a central defensive-midfielder by Mauricio Pochettino. Gueye did exceptionally well to get into the Manchester City box and scored a stunner for PSG. It was a shot no keeper would have saved.
Gueye ended the game with a 91% pass success, five tackles, and a shot which resulted in PSG's first goal. He also kept the Manchester City players on their toes by tracking them down and closing in on them throughout the game.
#1 Marco Verratti
Another Paris Saint-Germain player who returned from injury today was Marco Verratti. The PSG star showed his class throughout the game and was the best player on the pitch in the first half.
The Italian played 76 minutes for PSG on the night and completed 42 of his 45 attempted passes in the game. Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping Verratti keeps this level performance going as it will help his side become unstoppable if he links up well with the front three.
Verratti did get booked in the game, but it was a tactical foul he had to make to ensure Manchester City did not have a run at the PSG goal. The Italian ran the game for the Ligue 1 side and got them out of tricky situations when Manchester City pressed them high.
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