Four takeaways from the Champions League: PSG gets lucky, Manchester City and Inter Milan misfire
Shakhtar Donetsk played out a goalless draw against Bologna.
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — The first round of Champions League matches continued on Wednesday with two of the competition’s biggest names – Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain – in action.
But neither of those teams produced the most impressive performances of the night, one failing to score and the other needing a late piece of luck to salvage the three points.
Here’s a roundup of the latest games across Europe.
PSG bemoans ‘worse than giving birth’ win
“This was worse than giving birth, with all due respect,” was PSG manager Luis Enrique’s bizarre analogy when asked about watching his side struggle against Girona and eventually emerging with a 1-0 win.
It was only thanks to an error from Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga that PSG, beginning its latest quest for a maiden Champions League title, claimed the narrow victory in the 90th minute.
The Spanish side, making its first appearance in the competition, was moments away from securing a draw at the Parc des Princes until Gazzaniga let a deflected cross from Nuno Mendes slip out of his hands, through his legs, and into the back the net.
Prior to that, Ousmane Dembélé had wasted a fantastic opportunity to give the home side the lead after he was denied by Ladislav Krejčí’s superb challenge.
Gazzaniga’s blunder was a late relief for Enrique and PSG, now without star striker Kylian Mbappé after his move to Real Madrid.
“We struggled a lot, it was difficult for us,” said Enrique. “They’re a team that knows how to play very well, a team that doesn’t lose the ball.
“There were moments in the first half where we realized it wasn’t enough to press in any which way. I think the first half of the match was more favorable for us and we had clear chances to score.
“It’s a shame that we couldn’t score here because I think the end of the match would have been a bit calmer.”
Despite the underwhelming performance, PSG maintains its perfect record this season with five wins from five matches.
City and Inter play out goalless draw in rematch of 2023 final
The rematch of the 2023 Champions League final was expected to be the most exciting game of the night, seeing the English and Italian champions go head-to-head.
The contest failed to live up to its billing, however, as Man City – victorious when the teams met in Istanbul – and Inter Milan played out a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
İlkay Gündoğan had two opportunities to snatch a win for City but failed to convert both of his headers – one directed straight at Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer and the other flying over the bar.
Concerning for Man City was the fact that Erling Haaland was subdued and Kevin De Bruyne left the game at half-time with an injury, while Inter manager Simone Inzaghi was a frustrated figure on the touchline as his side faltered in front of goal.
“We have the advantage to play at home, but I admire teams (like Inter) who defend well,” said City manager Pep Guardiola. “We defended really well also. We conceded clear chances on the transition, but not much more than that.
“I know how good they are. They are top class team, and we behaved really well. We prefer to win, but I don’t have regrets. I like everything we have done today.”
Both teams now have huge matches this weekend: Man City plays Arsenal in a clash of the top two in the Premier League and Inter faces arch-rival AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.
2024 finalist saved by 20-year-old super sub
Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge also looked to be heading for a goalless draw on Wednesday before the German side turned to substitute Jamie Gittens.
The 20-year-old was brought on for Marcel Sabitzer in the second half and quickly made Brugge pay for failing to score from several good chances, which included hitting the underside of the bar in the first half.
Gittens’ deflected shot gave last year’s beaten finalist the lead, and he then fired a shot into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 to Dortmund.
With victory all but secured, Serhou Guirassy converted a late penalty to heap further misery on the home side.
“I got the ball to try to make something happen, to do some more dribbling and create some chances for our team, which I’ve done today, and to score was even better,” said Gittens, an England youth international now in his fourth season with Die Schwarzgelben.
Shakhtar Donetsk debuts national colors
Elsewhere, Shakhtar Donetsk wore a new uniform featuring the national colors of Ukraine for the first time in its 0-0 draw against Bologna.
The players wore a yellow-and-blue striped jersey, blue shorts and yellow socks in a show of national pride amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, currently in its third year.
Shakhtar, which will play its Champions League home games in Germany this season, had the best scoring chance early in the match, but Georgiy Sudakov’s penalty was saved by Bologna goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski.
On a sodden night in northern Italy, Giovanni Fabbian saw his close-range effort saved by the chest of Dmytro Riznyk – the home side’s best chance of scoring.
Wednesday’s results
Home vs. away (winners in bold)
Bologna 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Sparta Prague 3-0 RB Salzburg
Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Girona
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Celtic 5-1 Slovan Bratislava
Manchester City 0-0 Inter Milan
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