Pep Guardiola returned to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night in a show of support to the club, staff, fans and players in the wake of the guilty verdicts in the 115 case against the Premier League. The Catalan was back 'home' after previously saying "It's been f***ing fun" when he last left the stadium.
City ultimately came up short against two-time defending Champions League winners PSG, but few can argue that the match wasn't f***ing fun. The contest featured six goals, a hatful of chances, some brilliant moments, some bizarre ones, a missed penalty and referee Sven Jablonski getting flattened by Enzo Fernandez.
City undone by two goals in 99 seconds
At the end of it all City were beaten 4-2, undone by two goals in 99 seconds in the opening quarter as PSG threatened to run away with a contest they led 3-0 at the break. Enzo Maresca's side had barely had a sniff but they were a team reborn after the break, creating - and spurning - chance after chance and conceding a goal that left Gianluigi Donnarumma scratching his head.
Plenty around the Etihad were scratching theirs as well given how this contest unfolded. PSG could have been out of sight at half time but come the final whistle, plenty were wondering how City hadn't got a result.
Second-half dominance not rewarded
They hit post and bar in the second half, saw an effort cleared off the line and made the star-studded visitors look distinctly ordinary for large parts of a second period they dominated, even if PSG still found a way to win a penalty which Donnarumma saved. Guardiola felt it all too, celebrating Haaland's goals with gusto, reacting like every other Blue as chances came and went.
He was set to catch up with Maresca after the final whistle on his return to Manchester. It wasn't the result either man wanted, but boy was it fun.
