Maresca believes Manchester City are capable of beating Paris Saint-Germain if they play to their best.

Another key match in the second round of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League will take place, with Manchester City hosting Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium. Maresca stated that he believes Manchester City is absolutely capable of defeating the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, provided their players perform at their best.

In their opening Champions League match, Manchester City secured a 2-0 victory over Porto, thanks to two goals from Haaland, achieving a strong start to the season. In addition, in the earlier Premier League match, Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Liverpool, with goals from Haaland, Doku, and Rajan Scherki.

Manchester City manager Maresca said, "Our message for tomorrow's game is very simple: we must play a perfect game because Paris Saint-Germain is currently the strongest team in Europe. They have won the Champions League twice in a row, which is enough to prove how good they are."

"Therefore, we must play perfectly. At the same time, as long as we can play at our best, we have the ability to beat them. I believe we are an excellent team, without a doubt. As for where we are compared to Paris Saint-Germain, to be honest, I don't know."

Maresca pointed out, "I know very well how strong they are. They have won the Champions League for the past two years, which is enough to prove their strength. I am not sure how big the gap is between us and them, but I am sure that we are also a strong team."

“We certainly have a lot of areas to improve, both offensively and defensively. Looking back at the team’s performance, we have won seven or eight games in a row, but each game is different. The last game against Liverpool at Anfield was completely different from the previous games.”

In addition, Maresca said, "In the previous match, we were down 0-1 to Bournemouth but managed to come back and win. Against Manchester United, we won with 10 players. Every game is different, but for our job, winning is undoubtedly the most important thing."

"But what pleases me even more is that I see positive changes in the players every day."

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