Manchester City’s first home game since the verdict dropped was a Champions League night of smoke, fury and defiance against Paris Saint-Germain. The Etihad Stadium was febrile before kick-off, and PSG won a wild game that featured around six goals, a collapse, a comeback, shots against posts and bars, and saved penalties. Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé inspired the visitors, with Vitinha making it 3-0 on 32 minutes.
PSG were brilliant early. Luis Enrique, in rumpled black tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie, was up on his feet as his midfield suffocated City in and out of possession. Doué was sublime on the left, all fast-twitch spring and balance. By the time Vitinha scored the third, the score could have been anything. City’s players gave everything against superior opponents, but Pep Guardiola watched from the stands, looking haunted beneath a flat cap.
The atmosphere was defined by defiance. PSG’s team was booed, the PSG fans’ singing was booed, and the Champions League anthem was obliterated. A City Till I Die Tifo was hoisted. Early songs included ‘City’s going down with a billion in the bank’ and the chant about Gary Neville. The banner reading ‘Sheikh Mansour, Manchester thanks you for 10 great years’ was still there. City’s supporters moved from sullen defiance to angry defiance and occasionally even jubilant defiance.
Two weeks on from the verdict, English football has entered a state of ongoing whiplash. There has been talk about whether City’s games should be broadcast or even played at all. On the other side, this is by far the most interesting City have ever been. In the age of charge-rage and mega-defiance, they are suddenly total box office. No more denials. Just embrace the darkness, smear and accuse, and say the real cheat is the rules. It is performative villainy, deeply gripping main-character stuff.
PSG were perfect opponents: a kind of twin entity, oil state glove puppets, twice punished for cheating the financial rules. Abu Dhabi versus Qatar in Manchester. City’s fans fell silent for long periods, and while their sense of grievance may be misdirected, it is undeniably real. For all the spectacle, there was no victory for City here — only a brilliant game and a team that gave everything.