Manchester City and Aké relinquish lead against combative Leipzig | Football

---

Feb 22, 2023 at 10:53 PMUpdate: 2 minutes ago

Manchester City failed to take a big step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday. The team of coach Josep Guardiola and base customer Nathan Aké was dominant in the first half against RB Leipzig, but the home team came alongside after the break: 1-1.

City was supreme in the Red Bull Arena before the break and that led to the opening goal in minute 27. Riyad Mahrez took advantage of an error in Leipzig’s defense and shot the ball behind former Heracles goalkeeper Jannis Blaswich.

Leipzig recovered after the break and had a few chances for the equalizer. Josko Gvardiol took care of the deserved 1-1 twenty minutes before the end by heading the ball behind City goalkeeper Ederson.

The duel in Leipzig was led by the Dutch referee Serdar Gözübüyük. The return in Manchester is on Tuesday 14 March.

Unfortunately, this content cannot be displayed. We do not have permission for the necessary cookies. Accept the cookies to view this content.

Change cookie settings

Competition has two faces

City had to do without star player Kevin De Bruyne in Germany, who was absent due to illness. Defenders Aymeric Laporte and John Stones were also absent. Nevertheless, the battered City had little to fear from Leipzig in the first half.

The visitors from England dominated, without creating a barrage of chances. A wrong pass in the back at Leipzig led to the opening goal. After good preparatory work by Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gündogan, Mahrez shot the ball firmly against the ropes: 0-1.

Leipzig could do nothing against the champions of England. A shot by attacker Timo Werner in stoppage time of the first half was only the home team’s first goal attempt. City had 74 percent possession before the break.

After the break, the roles were reversed. Leipzig had opportunities, while City held back. Gvardiol finally provided the deserved equalizer. Ederson misjudged a cross, after which the Leipzig defender could simply head in.

Leipzig and City had small chances of winning in the remainder of the game, but Ederson and Blaswich kept their goal clean. As a result, the decision at the Etihad Stadium will only be made in three weeks.

Josko Gvardiol scored the deserved equalizer. Photo: AP

View the results and the program in the Champions League

---

Source

---