Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City were second best during their Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. The 2022/23 European champions blew a 2-0 lead as they suffered a 4-2 defeat at the Parc des Princes.
The result leaves City one place outside of the play-off places with one group match to go.
Guardiola’s side face Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium in their final encounter next Wednesday, with victory guaranteeing the English side a spot in the top 24.
“In the first half they had moments, they had one or two in terms of chances. But they were better,” Guardiola told TNT Sports after the defeat in Paris.
“We could not control their first goal. In that moment they were a little bit knockout and in that moment they lifted [themselves].
“But they were better. They were quicker, faster, they won their duels with the ball. We could not cope with that, they are fast. We accept in defeat because the best team won. We have our last chance at home against Brugge and if we win hopefully we can qualify.”
City took the lead five minutes after the interval as half time substitute Jack Grealish thumped the ball into the net following good work from Manuel Akanji.
And the away side doubled their advantage moments later as Erling Haaland swept the ball home at the back post.
But City were unable to protect their lead and immediately allowed the hosts back into the match as Ousmane Dembele pounced after finding space in the box.
Bradley Barcola levelled the scores an hour into the match after the ball had cannoned back off the crossbar, with Joao Neves nudging the home side level with 12 minutes remaining. And Goncalo Ramos secured the victory for PSG with a fourth goal deep into stoppage time at the end of the match.
“The game was never like we wanted but for that I give so much credit to PSG,” Guardiola added. “They are an extraordinary team. But at 2-0 if we could manage it… but they scored right after. Then if we could keep the ball a little bit and stay like that it would have been better, but we could not do it.
“To defend the result you have to keep the ball and we did not do that. They had it more, they attacked better and that is why it was difficult.”
And discussing the prospect of City exiting the Champions League at the group stage, the Spaniard explained: “It could happen. If we don’t win [against Club Brugge], we don’t deserve it (to progress).
“Sporting is tough, PSG is tough, Juventus is tough, all the away games we had were difficult. This is the reality. We did not get enough points. The last game against Brugge will dictate what we have to do.”
