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Billions spent – How PSG and Man City could be eliminated from Champions League
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The new Champions League format divided opinion but it’s grown in excitement and it’s poised to be a thrilling final matchday with two of the richest clubs in the world at serious risk. Few would have predicted that Manchester City and PSG would be facing elimination at the league phase stage but they are both in serious danger. The Ligue 1 champions and English Premier League title holders faced off in Paris on Wednesday night in a game engulfed in jeopardy given their predicament.
After a tense first half, the game burst into life during a thrilling second half that yielded four goals in the opening 15 minutes. Pep Guardiola’s introduction of Jack Grealish paid immediate dividends as the Englishman scored before playing a crucial role in Erling Haaland establishing a two-goal lead for City. But Guardiola’s men capitulated as PSG mounted a rousing comeback to score twice twice in two minutes to draw level before João Neves scored a dramatic winner with Gonçalo Ramos adding gloss to the scoreline to cap an incredible night with a 4-2 win for the Parisians. The result remarkably dropped Man City into the elimination zone with PSG just moving into the top 24 for now ahead of a difficult final game with both clubs still vulnerable.
How PSG and Man City face Champions League elimination
It’s almost unthinkable that PSG and Man City are at risk of exiting the Champions League before the knockout stages given their eye-watering spending. Ahead of the final matchday, PSG sit in 22nd place – just in the play-off spots for the last 16 – with ten points from their seven games but Man City sit 25th – two points of Stuttgart in the final play-off spot. PSG have qualified for the knockout stages in the last 12 seasons but fascinatingly, they travel away to Stuttgart next week with everything on the line.
Champions League
Standings
The German side are sandwiched between the two European giants and they will pose a major threat for PSG as a defeat could see them eliminated – but a draw would see both sides progress into the play-offs. City famously won the competition for the first time in their history in 2023 but they need to win their final game against Club Brugge at home to avoid an incredible elimination. City will be extremely confident of beating the Belgian side but their predicament in Europe is indicative of their struggles this season and they are already out of the Premier League title race.
Manchester City and PSG’s insane spending analysed
Manchester City and PSG both have owners from the Middle East and they are renowned for their vast spending across the last decade. While City’s lavish transfer business ultimately brought them glory in the Champions League, PSG have been unable to land the holy grail. As the graphic below illustrates, only Chelsea (€2.42b) have spent more than PSG and Man City across the last ten seasons. PSG have spent marginally more than the English club but both have underperformed massively in Europe with their Champions League prospects hanging by a thread.