PARIS: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that his team was dominated by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) when they lost 4-2, which affected their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Guardiola’s men squandered a two-goal lead early on as PSG stormed to a four-goal second-half comeback.

The result saw City drop to 25th place, one place outside of play-off qualification.

They now need to win when they host Club Brugge in the final group stage match on January 29.

“We had our moments and they had their moments, but they were better,” he told TNT Sports.

“They were quicker, quicker, they won the ball, we couldn’t handle it. They were very fast. The best team won. This game was never what we wanted.

“To play you have to play. To defend you have to hold the ball – we didn’t have it. They had it more, they attacked better, that’s why it was more difficult.”

The defeat was reminiscent of City’s shock defeat against Feyenoord two months ago, when they squandered a three-goal lead late in the match before drawing 3-3.

When asked about the possibility of City – Champions League winners in 2023 – not qualifying, Guardiola said: “It could happen. We’ll see.

“If we don’t win (against Brugge) we don’t deserve it. All the away games we have are difficult, but that’s the reality. We haven’t collected enough points.”

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton in the English Premier League just now after opposing winger Yankuba Minteh scored one goal and assisted another.

The hosts were not helped by an embarrassing mistake by goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter were also on the scoresheet in the second half for Brighton, who were unaffected when Joao Pedro’s goal was ruled out by VAR for a foul.

Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty for United to equalise in the 23rd minute to make it 1-1 at half-time but after Brighton took the lead for a second time, Onana made a mistake following a swipe into the penalty area, allowing Rutter to tap in the rebound in the 76th minute.

Brighton jumped to ninth on 34 points, four points clear of the top four.

United, on the other hand, fell one place to 13th place with 26 points from 22 matches.

Meanwhile, David Moyes won his first game at Goodison Park since returning as manager of the Toffees last week by beating Tottenham 3-2 while Nottingham Forest strengthened their position in third place by beating Southampton also 3-2.

LONDON: Pep Guardiola said today that Manchester City’s mood was improving after three consecutive wins but refused to comment on the potential signings of new players to bolster an injury-hit squad in January.

Premier League (EPL) champions City had won just one of their 13 matches in all competitions before their 2-0 win over Leicester on December 29.

They then beat West Ham 4-1 in Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge of the London club and thrashed fourth-tier club Salford 8-0 in the third round of the FA Cup last week.

“Before, it was impossible to win one game, now we win three and it helps us,” said Guardiola ahead of the meeting with Brentford early this Wednesday morning.

“We did well, but we’re still waiting to see who we are. You know who we are, but of course the feeling is better.”

He added: “We had a difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always created problems. They are an amazing team.”

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Real Madrid are chasing their dream of equalling a record 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them win 3-0 over Mallorca in the semi-final early this morning.

England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a flicked shot into the centre of the goal before an own goal by Mallorca defender Martin Valjent doubled the lead in injury time followed by Rodrygo’s close-range strike.

Spanish champions Real will face Barcelona for the trophy on Sunday after goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal gave Barca a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao early yesterday morning.

Barcelona and Real will face each other in the final of the competition for the third time in a row, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men winning last year while Barca last lifted the trophy in 2023.

Barcelona holds the record with 14 championships while Real has 13.

The Spanish Super Cup has been contested by four teams since 2020, featuring the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold over his lacklustre display against Manchester United.

Van Dijk also rejected the notion that Real Madrid’s desire to sign his teammate was the cause of Alexander-Arnold’s negative impact.

Alexander-Arnold was the source of Lisandro Martinez’s opening goal which saw the two teams tied 2-2 at Anfield, thus showing that the player’s performance was below his true standard.

The right-back’s lackluster performance has been ongoing for a long time and has often been the subject of debate regarding his future with the English Premier League (EPL) leaders.

The 26-year-old’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season and this means he can now sign a pre-contract with a club abroad.

Spanish giants Real reportedly made a bid to sign him but Liverpool are believed to have rejected the offer.

Liverpool are scheduled to face Tottenham in London on Wednesday in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

“Trent has people around him, his family and we are here for him too,” said Van Dijk.

“He wants to perform at the best level possible, just like we do. That’s the main focus.”