Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised his former player Lionel Messi after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League.
PSG got their first Champions League win of the campaign and their first win against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes.
Lionel Messi scored his first goal for the club to seal the victory after midfielder Idrissa Gueye’s opener.
Manchester City were dominant in possession but failed to get on the scoresheet in a night that saw last season’s slain semi-finalists get revenge on the silver medalists.
City pushed for an equaliser for most of the game but Messi’s fantastic first goal for his new club brought an end to the challenge the Premier League champions had posed.
The Argentine picked the ball up from a deep position and raced towards the retreating Manchester City back line with pace.
Centre-forward Kylian made a diagonal run to the 18-yard line, where he received the ball and played it back to Messi, who struck first time and curled the ball into the top-right corner of City’s net.
“We know it’s impossible to control Leo all 90 minutes,” Guardiola said in his post-match interview. ”
Of course, he came back from some injuries, which is why he needed a bit of rhythm but we know him quite well and when he can run and be close to the ball he’s unstoppable.
“The way we have done is minimise this as much as possible and create the chances that we could create. We arrived here and played our game.
“They defended deep with seven players, and it’s always the risk if you lose the ball and they can make one pass with Verratti who is an exceptional player and they make contact with Neymar or Messi and run it’s always difficult.”
