Convincing debut by Luis Enrique and City comeback with a double from Julián Álvarez
Happiness reigned in the Parc des Princes after the European premiere of Luis Enrique. A penalty goal from Kylian Mbappé and another, beautifully done by Achraf Hakimi, confirmed PSG's superiority against a Borussia Dortmund with problems maintaining its momentum in a group where Milan and Newcastle also appear.. The creative emergence of Vitinha gave wings to the French champion's plan, which imposed its aggressive style of constant pressure (2-0).
The freshness of Manuel Ugarte, 22, and Warren Zaire-Emery, 17, suited PSG well on their return to the Champions League. Mbappé's verticality on the left, against the unfortunate Marius Wolf, triggered the first German hesitation. In the 20th minute, Vitinha shot against the post and Dortmund only knew how to respond with a solo adventure from Donyell Malen.
Despite Marcel Sabitzer's early injury, Edin Terzic's team maintained composure during the first half. However, just after the break, a skirmish by Ousmane Dembélé ended with him stumbling into the hand of Niklas Sule. As protests for a similar action had already been reiterated in the first half, Gil Manzano was notified by the VAR. And Mbappé, with an accurate low shot, made it 1-0.
The advantage convinced PSG even more in their idea. Along with Vitinha, the team finally felt convinced of their options. In an action by the Portuguese, Hakimi left a break more typical of a playmaker before defining the net with a superb outside shot. From there until the end, the French managed their advantage and could have even scored 3-0 in added time, if not for Gonçalo Ramos' offside.
Heads and tails for Glazer
In Manchester, the reigning champion knew how to react against a very organized Red Star, even capable of taking the lead just before half-time. However, Julián Álvarez's double, plus Rodri's icing on the cake, did justice to the merits of Pep Guardiola's team, which continues its amazing streak at The Etihad, where it has accumulated 27 Champions League games without defeat.
Before the skyblue talent prevailed, the star of the night was Omri Glazer, signed this summer from Hapoel Beer Sheva, who showed an unusual inspiration for a debutant in the tournament. Shortly before the half hour mark, the Israeli goalkeeper read a very intentional header from Nathan Aké, neutralizing it with a powerful hand. Shortly after, he solved a shot from the edge of Julián Álvarez and another superb opportunity from Bernardo Silva, with a header from point-blank range after a cross from Sergio Gómez from the left.. It was a goal. Like the one Erling Haaland had previously missed, assisted by Phil Foden, although not very accurate with a header that would spit over the crossbar.
With their usual combinative football, City had pushed their opponent inch by inch until they cornered him in their area. His dominance, on the edge of half-time, translated into 71% possession, with 22 shots, seven of them well directed. However, in a burst of inspiration from Mirko Ivanic, with a fabulous ball into space, Osman Bukari appeared one-on-one to beat Ederson. The assistant's flag was of no use, because after the pertinent VAR review, the Portuguese Joao Pinheiro validated the 0-1.
Rodri's shot that made it 3-1 for City.
The euphoria of the Serbian fans was limited to the break time, since two minutes had not yet passed before the restart when City was able to find what they had been chasing so much.. The finishing ability of Julián Álvarez, author of 18 goals last season, was evident after a ball into Haaland's space. Glazer's smooth dribble was accompanied by a happy shot, with almost no gap. Stunned by the blow, Red Star still had to thank the good judgment of the linesman, who four minutes later disallowed a goal by Kyle Walker for offside.
In an animated chat with Juanma Lillo, his first assistant, Pep Guardiola reviewed the good work of his team. The conclusive English superiority would end up being forged in the strangest way. A stopped ball from the left by Julián Álvarez, with a lot of camber, was indecipherable for Glazer. In that clap in the air, Red Star's options were extinguished. And Rodri, after a play seen a thousand times in City's repertoire, closed the 3-1 with a very delicate shot with the inside of his right boot.