Manchester City trailed PSG 3-0 at half-time on Wednesday night, and their fans stood in stunned silence rather than booing the referee’s whistle. The Blues lost the game, but the second half offered encouragement for the future.
City were not at their best, but PSG were ruthless. Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha carved through City with their goals, while the battle was being lost in the middle of the park. Warren Zaire-Emery, still only 20, was proving a real pitbull in the centre of midfield.
Each time PSG pushed forward in numbers, Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez were cut adrift. Despite their form at Liverpool, the pair were overrun by PSG’s midfield three, which caused City all kinds of problems in defence. The back four were all at sea and exposed to the strength of PSG’s attack.
According to FotMob, PSG had ten shots (seven on target) in the first half, compared with City’s six (one on target). After Vitinha made it 3-0, the City players gathered in the middle of the pitch to discuss what had gone wrong. However, it was a smart change at the break from Enzo Maresca that gave City hope of a comeback.
A key half-time change
The City boss turned to his bench, bringing on Matheus Nunes, Iliman Ndiaye and, crucially, Ayyoub Bouaddi. Given the hype surrounding Bouaddi, Maresca has used him sparingly, and this decision says more about the quality of City’s squad than about how the young midfielder 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 ten line-breaking passes, with only Marc Guehi and Anderson making more, according to FotMob.
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 their accurate passing: City improved by 43 in the second half, while PSG’s tally fell from 241 to just 134.
Bouaddi was partly responsible for 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 ended the game with an assist, setting up Erling Haaland for his second goal of the match. This was a performance of the highest quality, and the exciting thing for City is that he is only 19. Imagine how good he could be in a couple of years.
A solution to a major problem
Maresca will not have been jumping for joy when he reviewed the game on Thursday. City still lost, and that first half did not match the Italian’s assessment that his side are close to PSG’s level.
However, City appear to have found a solution to a significant problem. Cherki was excellent against Liverpool on Sunday, dictating attacks and roaming into whichever position he liked. Against a side like PSG, who look to flood the centre of the pitch, he is far less effective. Bouaddi, Anderson and Fernandez as a midfield three counter that approach. They provided more balance in the middle and filled the gaps PSG were exploiting in the first half.
In big games where City cannot expect to have it 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.