PSG claim late point after Shaw penalty to hit Manchester City’s WCL top-four hopes

You cannot miss half a dozen big chances at Women’s Champions League level and expect to get away with it. That is the harsh lesson Manchester City learnt on Thursday against Paris Saint-Germain, who extended the English champions’ wait for their first win in Europe this season by striking late to secure a point at a disappointed Joie Stadium.

City’s third draw from three Champions League games so far this season really ought to have been a victory. Instead, their hopes of a top-four spot and with it automatic qualification for the quarter-finals are looking increasingly slim.

Related: Manchester City 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Women’s Champions League – as it happened

They thought they had won the game through Khadija “Bunny” Shaw’s 85th-minute penalty, but conceding sparked PSG into life and they snatched a point with a scrappy equaliser three minutes later as their substitute Tara Elimbi Gilbert found the net from close range.

How, therefore, should we look upon City’s season? Are they the team that is unbeaten in all competitions? Or the team without a win in Europe? Both ring true, and although they are still likely to progress to the knockout stages, they will have been hugely frustrated with their profligacy.

“There are a lot of things in this game we are pleased with. The result is not what we wanted, of course. Maybe we should kill the game earlier,” the City manager, Andrée Jeglertz, reflected. “Annoying is not the right word but it’s a little bit a feeling of ‘argh’. We deserved more, I think, but that’s how it is in the Champions League. When you dominate games and you don’t score, the opponent will take their chances and that’s what they did.”

Draws away to Bayern Munich and at home against Real Madrid in their first two games were certainly not poor results, against strong opposition and with theoretically kinder fixtures to come, so there was no need to panic, but City’s 11th-placed position in the table, only one above the final qualification spot, before kick-off will nonetheless have looked a little concerning to some of their supporters. They ended the night 10th.

Jeglertz was positive about their chances: “We got drawn against six teams and we have played the three toughest of them, I think, so now we have three games that we have the opportunity, again, to get the points we need to qualify for the next round. So that’s our goal and nothing has changed.”

Nonetheless, this latest draw was a blow. PSG sought to frustrate City in the first half, and succeeded after riding out an early storm. Shaw’s header dropped wide at the far post from Aoba Fujino’s third-minute cross, as the home side made a bright start but were unable to score while on top. Shaw fizzed a low strike narrowly wide 11 minutes later after terrific play from Lauren Hemp. City controlled possession but did not test the PSG goalkeeper, Oliwia Peda, until the second half.

Barcelona laid down another marker in their defence of the Women’s Champions League with an 8-0 win thrashing of the Danish champions, HB Køge.

A Caroline Graham Hansen penalty and a goal from Ewa Pajor, who finished second in the Ballon d'Or behind her recently departed teammate Alexia Putellas, had the holders in command by half-time in Denmark. Esmee Brugts, Patri Guijarro, Clara Serrajordi, Kika Nazareth and Clàudia Pina, who grabbed a brace, all scored in the second half to complete the rout.

Barcelona, who won the women's club award at the Ballon d'Or to go with Pere Romeu's coach of the year prize, remain top of the league phase with three wins from three by an aggregate score of 19-2, while despite the heavy defeat Køge remain in the playoff places.

Juventus struck twice late on to get the better of Austria Vienna 4-1. Goals by Matilde Pavan and Alba Redondo put Juve seemingly in control before Lotta Cordes reduced the deficit with 12 minutes left, but Kysha Sylla and Júlia Bartel struck in the final nine minutes. This second straight away win puts Juventus fifth, a point off the last automatic quarter-final qualification spot, while Austria Vienna sit 15th and two points off the playoffs.

Paris FC and Häcken shared the spoils in the French capital after Anna Anvegard scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to cancel out Evelyne Viens’ early opener and grab the Swedish champions their first point in Europe this season. They and Paris FC both remain outside the playoff spots.

This tricky game came in a testing week for City, sandwiched between last Sunday’s Manchester derby – where they dropped points for the first time this season after conceding a late equaliser – and this Sunday’s mouthwatering game away to in-form London City Lionesses and their Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas, who sit just one place and three points behind them in the WSL. Nobody in sky blue could afford to think about that game yet, though – PSG were no pushovers.

Straight after the restart, Fujino went close as she latched onto Kerstin Casparij’s clever ball and shot over from a tight angle. Fujino, a livewire throughout the night, also saw a shot blocked by Thiniba Samoura, as the hosts began to ask tougher questions. Soon they were creating chance after chance.

Shaw’s powerful low shot was turned behind by Peda. From the resulting corner, curled in expertly by Alex Greenwood, Shaw had a free header but was unable to connect. Mary Fowler then scuffed wide as frustrations began to mount. Shaw headed wide again moments later.

Surely the WSL’s top goalscorer was not going to fire a blank? Indeed not. She finally broke the deadlock after winning a spot-kick, brought down by Griedge Mbock Bathy, and then fired her penalty low to the keeper’s right. But that triggered PSG to attack with vigour for the first time in the match and they were soon level, bursting the City bubble.