Chaos Engulfs Guardiola and Luis Enrique

In the Champions League of thrilling matches, where a novel system ensures greater competitiveness and excitement with more clashes between top teams, few would have predicted that when the draw paired Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, one of them might face early elimination. Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique will meet in the seventh round of the Champions League at the Parc des Princes, a venue where neither can afford to fail to prevent further chaos among Europe's nouveau riche football clubs.

However, the situation is more concerning for the French champions, who are ranked 26th and virtually eliminated with just 4 points out of a possible 15. "If there's a culprit, it's me, you've found him," quipped the Asturian coach of the Parisians, who continues to struggle with criticism. A harsh reality check delivered by Bayern Munich (1-0), following a blunder by Safonov, to a project expected to be strong without Kylian Mbappé, and whose defeats are more frequent than anticipated. Every match is now a final for the Gijón native, who could see his tenure threatened if more failures occur in the remaining three group stage matches. The visit to Salzburg, who have only three points in the Champions League, is a must-win final. Then comes the aforementioned City backed by oil money, and finally, they will face Stuttgart in Germany. "On the brink of the abyss," opened L'Equipe's website, a striking headline that captures PSG's current state. The situation is already critical.

A dire moment that mirrors the one experienced by the Catalan strategist of the 'Sky Blues', who is enduring his worst period as a manager at a club that has been collapsing like a house of cards for weeks. It was somewhat clear that Santpedor would feel the absence of Rodri, the current Ballon d'Or, in his team's midfield, given that last season the Citizens played nine matches without him and lost four, nearly half of them. However, of the 50 matches the Spaniard played, they only lost one, achieving 38 victories. The absence of the Madrid native, due to a torn right knee ligament, is costing them dearly, and his return is far from imminent. The oil-backed entity also sees an excessive increase in their reliance on their striker Erling Haaland and the underwhelming season of Phil Foden, last season's Premier League MVP. Of the 35 goals the team has scored between their domestic league and European competition, 17 belong to the Norwegian forward.

The club has been sounding the alarm for days in an increasingly turbulent time, especially after the embarrassment experienced in the last Champions League match, squandering a 3-0 lead in the final fifteen minutes to end in a draw. "I want to injure myself," joked the Manchester City manager, half-seriously, as he appeared in the press area with a noticeable wound on his nose and several scratches on his head.

According to Opta, Manchester City is the first team in Champions League history to lead by three goals in the 75th minute and not win. It is also the first time in the Spaniard's career, having managed 900 elite matches, that he has surrendered a lead of three or more goals. City, with eight points, is fifteenth after the draw, having exited the 'Top 8' that automatically qualifies for the round of 16, and has not won in a month. In their previous five matches, they had lost, including a heavy defeat (4-1) against Sporting Lisbon in the previous European round. Now Guardiola's side faces a challenging schedule that they must navigate to secure a ticket to the intermediate round, which can be seen as the round of 32, provided they do not secure direct qualification for the round of 16. The English team must overcome Juventus and PSG away and Bruges at the Etihad. Meanwhile, the weekend awaits them with Liverpool, the Premier League leaders and currently one of the most in-form teams on the continent.