Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca expressed his frustration after the 2-4 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, despite the fact that his team managed to turn the score around after going 0-3 in the first half. Maresca considered that City “deserved more” in the second half and commented that Luis Enrique, at the end of the match, recognized his team's good luck.
The match, played at the Etihad Stadium, saw City lose their early lead as PSG scored three goals before half-time. Maresca described the start of the second half as “very better” and stated that the team created numerous scoring opportunities, which he believed justified a more favorable result. "We started quite well until the first goal, and then we conceded the second just a minute later. That generated bad feelings. In the second half we were much better and probably deserved something more," explained the Italian coach.
During the interval, City made adjustments to their pressing and defensive organisation, but PSG continued to dominate the game. Despite the improvement in the second half hour, PSG managed to score two more goals, sealing the 4‑2 victory. Maresca noted that the number of opportunities created in the second half did not translate to the scoreboard, which increased his sense of injustice.
In a post-match interview, Maresca revealed that Luis Enrique, the PSG coach, commented that City “were quite lucky.” Enrique's comment left the City coach with a bittersweet feeling, as his team showed superior performance in the second half, although he failed to turn it into a victory.
With the defeat, Manchester City remains in the group stage of the Champions League, while PSG advances to the next round. City's next challenge will be to prove that the day's performance was not an isolated case and that they can compete at the highest level in European competition. Maresca and his squad will have to work on the consistency of their performances to prevent luck from being the deciding factor in future matches.