Manchester City fell to a battling defeat against the reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain in a chaotic UEFA Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
PSG got the better of Man City in a six-goal thriller at the Etihad StadiumMore Videos
Enzo Maresca's side arrived at the Etihad Stadium in fine form off the back of an eight-game winning streak to start the club's first season beyond Pep Guardiola.
The French visitors took an early lead through Desire Doue as the forward fired past a group of bodies and past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
No sooner had Paris taken the lead than they'd doubled it as Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele headed past the despairing Italian.
The ruthless footballing lesson continued as Vitinha added a third with a curling shot which curved around Marc Guehi and past Donnarumma.
Having gone into the break three goals down, Manchester City re-emerged a different beast to their credit, with Enzo Fernandez going particularly close with a header.
The home side carried on this momentum and were rewarded as star striker Erling Haaland fired in a glancing header to haul his side back into it.
Despite the spirited 15 minute showing, PSG then extended their lead to three once more as Donnarumma's save from Maghnes Akliouche agonisingly bounced into the net.
City failed to lay down and take it, and Haaland once again rose to the occasion, slotting past Matvey Safonov from an Ayyoub Bouaddi pass.
In the later stages Paris were awarded a penalty after Matheus Nunes was adjudged to have fouled Nuno Mendes in the box.
Former City forward Ferran Torres stood up to take the spot kick, but Donnarumma denied the Spaniard's quite frankly tame effort, seeing the game finish 4-2 to the visitors.
Here are five things we learned from Manchester City's bout with the European champions.
1. A wake-up call
Despite all of the commotion off the pitch in recent weeks, Manchester City fans will have at least been enjoying what they have been seeing on the pitch this season.
With a winning run of eight games, some beautiful football and lots of goals, there has certainly been a lot to smile about.
This all came crashing down rather unceremoniously on Wednesday night as PSG ran riot at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League.
Thankfully, the match was a league phase game, and the result is unlikely to have too much of a bearing on City's progression to the knockouts.
However, the performances of many in the squad were just not up to scratch in the first 45 minutes and were undoubtedly a wake-up call for many in sky blue
To their credit, City seemed to take this on board at the break and reacted well in the second half, making it a contest, but it was all too little, too late after the initial damage.
Enzo Maresca and his team need to take this match exactly for what it is, a let-off which cannot be allowed to be repeated if aiming to challenge for the top prize.
2. Heroic Haaland
Most Manchester City fans and football fans in general would likely argue that Erling Haaland is the current figurehead of the club.
A towering presence off the pitch and a warm character off it, the striker has been a sensational addition to the sky blue ranks since joining in 2022.
It is no secret that the Norwegian likes to score a goal, but what has been just as impressive in recent times is his leadership.
Behind Phil Foden and Ruben Dias, Haaland has been at City the longest out of the current squad and has really started to take on a more commanding role in the dressing room.
This was well on display following the break on Wednesday night as the big number 9 took on the armband from the substituted Dias.
Haaland then gave the Etihad faithful some hope as he headed in for what was his 37th Champions League goal for City, becoming the club's all-time scorer in the competition.
He then rallied once more despite the setback of PSG's fourth goal and netted once more, firing past Matvey Safonov, and fired up his teammates around him to give it their all.
The result was, of course, not what the Premier League team wanted, but there were positive signs in the loss, and Haaland's attitude was certainly one of them.
3. Disastrous Donnarumma
Gianluigi Donnarumma has produced many an impressive save since arriving at the Etihad Stadium last year, but in almost equal measure, he has been found making errors.
Against his former team, you'd think the Italian would have a point or two to prove but sadly it was one of his worst performances in a City shirt.
Right from the off, Donnarumma didn't look comfortable passing out from the back, with a particularly poor pass to Marc Guehi early on.
This was then followed up by a disastrous two minutes that saw City hit by a quickfire double from Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele, with which Donnarumma definitely should have done better.
Maghnes Akliouche's fourth for PSG was just painful to watch as the City keeper's initial save despairingly bounced into the net.
To his credit, he did save Ferran Torres' penalty but in all fairness, it was an extremely weak effort from the World Cup winner.
There is no doubting that the 26-year-old is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but too often, his passing and lack of confidence on set pieces stick out like a sore thumb.
This coupled with a rare instance of the goalkeeper failing on his pure shot stopping too made for an evening for Donnarumma to forget.
4. Wasteful Semenyo
One of the most frustrating things on Wednesday night was less seeing the defence crumble at the start, but rather the spurned chances in the second.
Antoine Semenyo was one of the worst offenders in this regard, wasting several chances that came both his and Manchester City's way.
The home crowd could have witnessed a special comeback had it not been for the winger's wild efforts after the break.
All too many times City looked to be in a great position but a rushed shot or a sporadic decision from the Ghanian wiped away any real chance of his side getting back into it.
There is no doubting that Semenyo has some real quality and skill, evidenced in his successful stint at Bournemouth but his move to Manchester has been very hit and miss.
An FA Cup winning goal and a brace before the international break are some of the real highlights but when City really need to dig deep during these tough European nights, he has to do better.
His fellow winger Jeremy Doku showed some of the same signs in past seasons but really worked on his finishing to become an unstoppable force on the touchline, and Semenyo has to follow the same path if he is to preserve his place in the line-up.
5. PSG best in the world
As much as we can lament Manchester City for what was a poor showing at the Etihad Stadium in the first-half at least, praise must be awarded to their opponents.
Paris Saint-Germain looked leagues above their hosts at times on Wednesday night and was a stark reminder as to why the team has won the past two Champions League titles.
The sheer quality in the frontline of the French club was frightening, with the likes of Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele toying with the sky-blue backline.
To coin an old phrase it was like a hot knife through butter each time those in blue and red came forward, and a goal felt inevitable especially in the first 45 minutes.
Yet the Parisian defence also stood firm and dealt with City's own talented attackers well, largely nullifying the likes of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku.
Luis Enrique's team has dominated the European stage for the past couple of years now, and with a squad firing on all cylinders to that degree, it is quite easy to understand why.
City undoubtedly have to improve, but it is unlikely that Enzo Maresca's side will be coming face to face with an opponent of that quality all too often this season.