Mbappe has scored eight goals so far in the ongoing edition.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Amid the disappointment, Ouahbi sees the defeat as part of a longer journey.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

This combination picture shows Paraguay’s midfielder Julio Enciso at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 12, 2026, and France’s forward Kylian Mbappe at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on June 22, 2026. Paraguay and France will meet in a 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Pep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City side “could not cope” with Paris Saint-Germain after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 to the French side on Wednesday, leaving their Champions League hopes on the brink. “They were better. We have to accept it, We have the last chance at home against Bruges. We will do everything there and if we don’t it is because we don’t deserve it,” Guardiola told reporters after the match at the Parc des Princes.

“They were better, we have to accept it. It’s sport and it is like that.”

City had taken control as Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland both scored early in the second half for the visitors.

However, Ousmane Dembele pulled one back and Bradley Barcola equalised on the hour mark for PSG, who then went in front through a Joao Neves header on 78 minutes and wrapped up the win in stoppage time when Goncalo Ramos got their fourth goal.

PSG move above City in the standings, leaving Guardiola’s team 25th out of 36 teams with eight points from seven games.

Only the top 24 qualify for the knockout phase, but City host Club Brugge in their final league phase fixture next Wednesday and a win in that match should suffice for the 2023 European champions to progress to the play-off round.

Before that City host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday in a key game in the fight for a top-four finish domestically.

“I knew it would be tough. PSG is an exceptional team. We could not cope,” added Guardiola, who pointed to the home side having an extra man in midfield as being key.

“I would like to say differently but when one team plays better you have to accept it.

“Now we have to prepare for a tough game against Chelsea and of course the final against Bruges. Try to move forward. I know the players gave everything.”

It is yet to be seen if Ruben Dias will feature in either of those games after the Portuguese defender came off at half-time in Paris.

“He asked to be replaced because he didn’t feel good,” the coach said of Dias, who has only just returned from a spell on the sidelines due to injury.

Paris Saint-Germain’s stuttering start in this season’s Champions League continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, leading coach Luis Enrique to admit he was “worried” about his team’s prospects. The Dutch champions led through a Noa Lang strike just after the half-hour mark at the Parc des Princes, but Achraf Hakimi equalised early in the second half. Nevertheless, this was a game PSG should have won given the chances they created, but once again they struggled to put the ball in the net, a recurring problem in Europe.

“It is difficult to accept the result after a game like that but we already knew that football is often unfair,” Luis Enrique said. “We played well throughout and were better than PSV.”

PSG’s frustration was summed up when they were awarded a penalty in injury time after a challenge on Marco Asensio, only for the decision to be overturned on review. 

The French giants had 26 attempts on goal to their opponents’ eight. They have now scored just twice in their last five matches in the Champions League, with the other an own-goal against Girona last month.

That run goes back to last season’s semi-final against Borussia Dortmund which they lost 2-0 on aggregate.

“I think it is obvious that we created a lot more chances than our opponents and we deserved to win the game,” Luis Enrique added.

After a narrow 1-0 victory against Girona and a 2-0 defeat away to Arsenal in their first two matches in the new-look format of the competition, PSG have just four points from a possible nine.

There are still five games to play but they have Atletico Madrid at home next followed by Bayern Munich away, suggesting things will not get any easier.

“It is the worst group (fixtures) and we need to be prepared to improve what we can and keep going. But yes, it is difficult and of course I am worried,” the coach added.

PSV, meanwhile, are still winless having previously lost away to Juventus before drawing with Sporting.

That shows how big a step up playing in Europe is for the Dutch side, who have a perfect record after nine games in this season’s Eredivisie.

“The players did a great job tonight and I am really proud of them to be leaving here with a point,” said PSV coach Peter Bosz.

Rested in Ligue 1 last weekend and controversially dropped against Arsenal, Ousmane Dembele was back in the starting line-up for PSG.

Dembele misses

The France winger has never been a deadly finisher and was guilty of missing a couple of big chances in the first half.

Lee Kang-in, preferred to Randal Kolo Muani in PSG’s attack, was first to force a save from visiting goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Dembele then should have scored in the 19th minute when he arrived unmarked at the back post to meet an inviting cross from the left, but his effort on the half-volley clipped the bar.

That was followed by another miss on the half-hour mark as Dembele was played in by a clever Joao Neves pass off the chest, but he blazed over the bar.

Having offered little going forward, PSV went ahead on 34 minutes.

An Olivier Boscagli interception left the home team exposed, and Ismael Saibari supplied Lang who blasted in a low shot from the edge of the area.

PSG were now in danger of a seventh defeat in 15 games in the Champions League since the start of last season, but they found an equaliser on 55 minutes.

Hakimi tried a speculative shot from 25 metres which was simply too powerful for Benitez as the ball passed through the goalkeeper’s legs.

The same player came close to putting PSG ahead before drama ensued in injury time.

Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg pointed to the spot in the 93rd minute when Boscagli lunged into a tackle on Marco Asensio, but the defender played the ball and the penalty was cancelled after a VAR check.

Benitez then saved PSV with a brilliant save from a Marquinhos header, and the final whistle was met with boos by the home fans.

The Qatar-owned club’s prospects of finally landing a first ever Champions League title this season currently seem remote.

Paris Saint-Germain began their defence of the Ligue 1 title with a 4-1 win at Le Havre on Friday in their first competitive game since the departure of talisman Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.

Lee Kang-in gave PSG the lead inside three minutes in Normandy only for Gautier Lloris to equalise, but late goals by Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and a Randal Kolo Muani penalty sealed the victory for the reigning French champions.

It was a comfortable win in the end for Luis Enrique’s team, with their substitutes ultimately making the difference as PSG’s strength in depth proved too much for a team who only just avoided relegation last season.

“It is the first game back and it’s a very good start,” said PSG’s Spanish coach.

The French international trio of Kolo Muani, Dembele and Barcola all began the game on the bench, while Portugal midfielder Joao Neves came on at half-time for his debut after joining from Benfica for a fee that could reach 69.9 million euros ($76.7m) including bonuses.

Yet Le Havre will wonder what might have been had a Josue Casimir goal — which would have put them in front early in the second half — not been disallowed by VAR for a handball.

“We had highs and lows, but the substitutes did a lot of good for us,” added Luis Enrique.

“The final score disguises the fact that there are things to improve upon. We gave away lots of easy balls and had we gone 2-1 down that might have changed everything.”

PSG have not made any marquee signings to fill the enormous void left by Mbappe, who departed for Madrid in June after scoring 44 goals last season and registering a club-record 256 across his seven years at the club.

It is yet to be found out if Luis Enrique’s team can repeat their performances of the last campaign, when they swept all the domestic honours and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

The Spanish coach was without several regulars here, with left-back Nuno Mendes suspended while Fabian Ruiz is not yet ready to return after helping Spain win Euro 2024.

Late goals

There was a debut on the left wing for Ibrahim Mbaye, who is only 16 and was one of three teenagers in PSG’s starting line-up alongside Yoram Zague and Warren Zaire-Emery, both 18.

South Korea star Lee opened the scoring when he collected a Goncalo Ramos pass on the right wing before sending a shot into the far corner with the aid of a deflection.

However, the visitors were then dealt a blow as Ramos was forced off with an ankle injury, and his replacement Kolo Muani then sent a header crashing back off the bar.

Le Havre, in their first game under new coach Didier Digard, improved as the game went on and Abdoulaye Toure had a goal disallowed for offside just before the half-hour mark.

They were level three minutes into the second half when Lloris, the brother of former France captain Hugo, turned in Christopher Operi’s free-kick.

The hosts then thought they had taken the lead on 53 minutes when skipper Casimir ran through to score, but VAR ruled his effort out after a long check for a handball.

Lee struck the frame of the goal before Dembele, who had been sent on for the final 20 minutes, gave PSG the advantage again on 85 minutes with a header from a Neves cross.

Barcola curled in a superb third a minute later, and Kolo Muani then won and converted the late penalty which wrapped up the win for the visitors at the Stade Oceane.

Last season’s runners-up Monaco face Saint-Etienne on Saturday, while Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of Marseille will be away to Brest, who surprisingly finished third in the last campaign.

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