Manchester City trailed PSG 3-0 at half-time on Wednesday night, and the home fans stood in stunned silence rather than booing the referee’s whistle.
City were not at their best, but PSG were ruthless. Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha carved through City with their goals, but the battle was being lost in the middle of the park. Warren Zaire-Emery may only be 20, yet he was proving to be a pitbull in midfield.
Each time PSG surged forward in numbers, Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez were left behind. Despite their excellent form at Liverpool, the pair were overrun by PSG’s midfield three, and that caused City all kinds of problems in defence. The back four were all at sea and were exposed by the strength of PSG’s attack.
According to FotMob, PSG took 10 shots (seven on target) in the first half, compared with six for City (one on target). After Vitinha scored PSG’s third, the City players gathered in the middle of the pitch to discuss what had gone wrong so far.
Maresca’s half-time change
A smart change at the break from Enzo Maresca then gave City hope of a comeback. The City boss turned to his bench and brought on Matheus Nunes, Iliman Ndiaye and, crucially, Ayyoub Bouaddi. Given the hype surrounding Bouaddi, Maresca has used him sparingly. That decision says more about the quality of City’s squad than about how Bouaddi has settled in England.
Replacing Rayan Cherki, Bouaddi made City suddenly more compact, and PSG had no answer. Despite playing just 45 minutes, he produced 10 line-breaking passes, with only Marc Guehi and Anderson making more, according to FotMob.
A second-half turnaround
In the first half, PSG dominated nearly every key statistic, including xG, total shots, shots on target and accurate passes. After the break, City took control of those numbers. Most striking was the accurate passes tally. City improved by 43 in the second half, while PSG’s fell from 241 to just 134.
Bouaddi played a large part in that shift. His heatmap shows how much ground he covered, particularly in the attacking midfield areas.
He failed to complete only three of his 40 passes and finished the game with an assist, setting up Erling Haaland for his second goal of the match. It was a performance of the highest quality, and the exciting part for City supporters is that he is only 19. Imagine how good he could become in a couple of years.
Maresca will not have been jumping for joy when he analysed the game on Thursday. City still lost, and that first half did not match the Italian’s view that they are close to PSG’s level.
A possible solution
Still, City may have found an answer to a major problem. We saw on Sunday how good Cherki can be when he has the space to operate. Against Liverpool, the Frenchman dictated attacks and had the freedom to roam into whichever position he liked.
Against a side like PSG, who look to flood the centre of the pitch, he is far less effective. Playing Bouaddi, Anderson and Fernandez as the three central midfielders counters that approach. Together they provided more balance in the middle of the pitch and filled the gaps PSG had exploited in the first half.
In big games where City cannot expect to have things all their own way, picking Bouaddi to offer extra protection in midfield could be the way forward. If City can produce more performances like that second-half display, they will be well placed for silverware this season.